Am I entitled to compensation for a delayed flight?

No-one wants their flight to be delayed and we receive regular questions from readers about how to tackle the claims process following travel disruption.

So, to help you if your flight is delayed, our handy guide simplifies your legal rights and explains what compensation you might be entitled to, as well as how you would go about claiming it.

Make sure you know your rights if your flight is delayed

My flight is delayed – does my airline have to look after me?

If you are travelling from a European airport or with an EU airline and your flight is delayed by more than two hours, your airline may have to offer you a “welfare package” including food, drinks, two phone calls and, if you are delayed overnight, accommodation plus transport to and from where you are staying.

When your airline is obliged to offer you this welfare package depends on the distance you are travelling in kilometres. The table below outlines your rights:

Length of delay before you are entitled to assistance

Flight length

Delay

0 – 1,500km (eg Manchester to Frankfurt)

More than two hours

1,500 – 3,500km (eg Newcastle to Majorca)

More than three hours

3,500km + (eg London to Delhi)

More than four hours

Source: CAA

If your airline does not offer to provide the welfare package itself – for example, in the form of meal vouchers or by booking accommodation for you – talk to a representative at the airport to find out what they consider “reasonable costs” and get an agreement that you can sort out your own welfare.

If you do arrange your own accommodation or buy meals, keep all of your receipts to make claiming back any costs you have incurred as easy as possible.

What about compensation – a cash payout? – for a delayed flight?

If you are travelling from a European airport or with an EU airline and your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late, you may be entitled to financial compensation of up to €600 under the EU261 rules.

You won’t be entitled to compensation if your flight is delayed as a result of “extraordinary circumstances”.

But what are “extraordinary circumstances”?

“Extraordinary circumstances”, according to EU261, are those deemed to be outside the airline’s control and which, even if the airline had taken reasonable measures, would have delayed the flight.

They include extreme weather such as snow, acts of nature such as the volcanic ash cloud in 2010 and industrial strikes. However, a court case in January 2016 ruled that lightning strikes do not count as extraordinary circumstances, while in July 2016 the European Court of Justice ruled that bird strikes will also no longer be considered extraordinary either.

And a European Court of Justice ruling in September 2015 (Van der Lans v KLM) confirmed that technical faults with an aircraft don’t count as extraordinary circumstances (with the exception of out-of-the-ordinary events such as a manufacturer revealing a defect).

It is important to remember, however, that even if a long delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances and you are not therefore entitled to compensation, your airline must look after you and offer a welfare package.

How much compensation can I claim?

As with welfare packages, the compensation you’re entitled to is determined by the length of your flight and how long the delay is. The table below outlines the different levels of compensation you can claim following a flight delay.

The delay is calculated by the time your flight arrives at your destination, not your departure time.

Length of flight

Delay to destination

Compensation due

Up to 1,500km

More than 3 hours

€250

1,500km to 3500km

More than 3 hours

€400

More than 3,500km

More than 3 hours but less than 4 hours

€300

More than 3,500km

More than 4 hours

€600

Source: CAA

How do I claim compensation?

You should first talk to your airline and find out what caused the delay. Make a note of all of the details so you can be clear on the facts at a later date, and keep your tickets as well as any relevant receipts.

When you are ready to claim, go to the airline’s website to find out how best to contact it. British Airways, for example, has an online form for customers to fill in but also provides a postal address for letters. The CAA also has advice on what information to include when communicating with an airline.

Should I use a claims company?

You might be tempted to use a claims company to smooth your claim but, as with third parties offering to help with PPI compensation, these firms charge a fee for their services and are entirely unnecessary for most passengers in claiming compensation.

The claims process is straightforward, so why part with any of the sum you are due?

I’ve previously made a claim for compensation/welfare but haven’t received anything – what should I do?

An October 2014 court ruling, and the cases leading up to it, helped to clarify your rights to compensation. So, if your airline has refused to pay out, citing causes you suspect do not fall within the category of extraordinary circumstances (for example, technical faults), you could contact it stating that you would like to pursue your claim, as in the case of Jet2 vs Huzar.]

You have six years to claim compensation in England and Wales, and five in Scotland.

If you’d like to pursue an old claim for the reimbursement of welfare costs – for example, when flights were grounded across Europe as a consequence of the Icelandic ash cloud – again you could contact your airline stating that, in light of the McDonagh vs Ryanair case, you would like to claim your expenses back. (Please note that the ash cloud was now almost six years ago so this is used as an example, only.)

It is important to be aware, however, that to pursue your claim you will need copies of your original letters and/or receipts.

A number of CAA-approved complaint bodies have also been set up in a bid to help passengers with their airline disputes. Some 20 airlines have now signed up to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) bodies which deal with EC261 matters (flight delays, cancellations and denied boarding issues), EC1107 matters (issues relating to passengers with reduced mobility) and lost, delayed and damaged baggage issues.

What are my rights if my delayed flight is with a non-EU airline?

As the EU261 rules only protect passengers travelling with an EU airline or out of an EU airport, you won’t have exactly the same rights. Instead, check the policy of the airline you are travelling with.

TravelSupermarket’s top tips

Check your rights while you are on the move by downloading the European Commission’s app called Your Passenger Rights.

In the event of any delay or cancellation, talk to your airline for guidance on why you have been delayed and how to claim your welfare package – don’t spend anything yourself that you expect to get back without clarifying it with your airline.

To make a successful claim, keep all relevant receipts as well as your tickets, and write down as many details as possible at the time of your delay so you don’t forget any key facts.

Always take out a travel insurance policy that includes protection for travel delays to cover you for any extra costs you may incur – such as not being able to turn up to your booked accommodation.

Please note: This is an updated version of previously-published article.

I have been in dispute with Thomas Cook on behalf of my daughter who with her family was delayed seven and half hours at Birmingham due to an aircraft problem scheduled to fly to Cyprus in October 2010.

I will not be overly descriptive regarding her experience but needless to say she suffered hell in airport holding lounge and lost day of her actual holiday.

On her return I contacted Thomas Cook asking for some remuneration but was advised that none was applicable to the incident. However on her behalf I made many enquiries and discovered enough to keep the claim in abeyance.

With the European Union Judgement recently updating and confirming its stance on compensation, Thomas Cook realising they had no leg to stand on offered my daughter an amount that both she and I disagreed with.

They had carefully scrutinised the 17 articles of the EU Regulations and whittled the claim down by nearly 50%. As a result I am in the process of taking them to the small claims court. Just this morning they upped their offer by less than 7%!

The EU Judgements list 17 articles of which all are to be treated separately, the most important of which to most passengers are those related to time(Delayed) and compensation amounts related to the delays. So the amounts are stated and governed by the articles which can be used by both passenger and airline as guidance.

What is not so clear however is that there are other articles that cover separate issues, such as passengers rights to information, special needs and requirements etc, An example is….in 2010 when my daughters incident occurred there should have been a notice at the check in advising passengers of their rights. After 2 hours of delay the airlines are obliged to provide written information about the delay and what options they have.

Neither of these obligations were available at Birmingham in 2010.

My daughter youngest child was suffering with a mental disorder and had been dosed with medication to keep him calm for the expected four and half hour flight. Unfortunately the medication ran out halfway through her long wait in the departure lounge, and both she and her husband had to try and placate a little boy (4) who in effect had just woken up.

Any help from Thomas Cook was not forth coming even though one of the articles in the Regulations state that special needs passengers must have adequate attention.

The sustenance provided was hardly enough for 2 persons let alone four, and only one telephone call was allowed as opposed to two!

By the time they got on their flight they were so dog tired they snoozed for most of the journey, while the eldest boy (6) thankfully kept the youngest amused for the majority of the journey. Unfortunately due to the parents both in the land of nod they missed their in flight meals.

Arriving at the hotel in early hours of the following day they did not arise until the afternoon, and in effect last a day of their holiday. Then had their first hot meal for 36 hours at evening dinner.

A story that I am sure has been repeated many times, however I feel sure many of those 200 odd passengers on that flight have just let the matter drop. Hope you won’t.

I have just returned from a holiday to Egypt with my husband and two small children. We booked flights with Thomson,we flew from Birmingham to Hurghada but halfway through we were told that there was a technical fault with the plane and we had to land in Croatia, then we were told that the fault had cleared as we tried to land and it might have been ice. The captain then decided that although the plane was 100% ok we had to go back to the UK as the crew would have run out of hours waiting for the plane to be fixed in Hurghada.

We had a horrible time in Manchester Airport, my luggage had been coated in washing liquid, our rep disappeared and we were last to arrive at our accommodation for the night. With a 2 and half year old and a seven month old it was not fun!
My children didn’t get to eat dinner as they were too tired and I couldn’t have the buffet provided as I was with the sleeping children.

the flight the next day was awful as both children were over tired and hungry!

Hi I was on that flight, it was a nightmare, also I am untouched
With another person that was onthe flight to hugarda,
We have both rang thomson and they have 56 day turn around,
What that means I don’t know,
I am planning to go to small claims court, I am not waiting

My daughter and I (32 with special needs) were delayed by 17 hours in Belfast on our way to Turkey in August 2014. We did receive overight accommodation adn a meal in the hotel as well as breakfast the next day.
However, my daughter hates queing etc., we had to queue for our original flight, wait on word for quite a while on what was wrong, apparently it was the wheel then the brakes, before being offered accommodation. We then had to rise very early next morning, again upsetting her, queue all over again, upsetting her. Lost a valuable day of our holiday. No-one came to us personally to see if we were okay or if we needed additional support.

I applied for compensation in November 2014 using Thomas Cook’s site. The replied saying there was amassive backlog and they would deal with it asap. I emailed again in February as I had heard nothing more. At the bottom of the email there was a statement saying that this email is for me only and is not to be shared with anyone etc (legally threathenin I felt).
I again sent an email this week regarding not hearing from them and they have not replied.
I have not booked a holiday this year as it put me off. I will definietly not fly with TC again. Please advise my next step.
I feel that the big companies are getting away with ignoring its cumstomers; as if we are insignifican. I don’t feel they take the ruling in court seriously and are trying to break people by making them wait. Hoping they will drop their claim.
Thanks
I

I assume you are applying for EU261 compensation for a delayed flight as opposed to compensation for the way your delay was handled here, however to have not received a reply within six months is highly unusual despite the backlog that Thomas Cook may have had. You would need their answer to be able to dispute it with either ABTA or the CAA if you felt it was not suitable.

I would start by trying to speak to them. I believe their number to be 0844 412 5954

Hi I was delayed 16 hours on a thomson flight with my 3 children – they wont reply to email – I have filled in a form that states I should be entitled to 400 euro? each ? where would I send this too as Thomson have no postal addresses I can find.

Thank you for your comment and sorry to hear about your daughter’s delay.

Before I can try to help you, please can you let me know a few further details? If you send them to my email address cathy.toogood@travelsupermarket.com, I’ll get back to you.

Did your daughter book a package holiday with Thomas Cook or did she book flights only? And, has Thomas Cook clarified what caused the aircraft problem? In the case above, for example, the judge ruled that the technical fault in question didn’t fall into the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ category but aircraft faults will need to be looked at on a case by case basis.

I’m wondering if you can advise on my situation? I had a package holiday booked through Thomas Cook leaving from Birmungha to Majorca back in 2010.Our flight was delayed for approximately 4 hours, when we got to the gate to board the flight the check in staff called so many seats to board and we were left seated nothing was said untill the doors had closed and the plane started taxiing. We were then informed that one of the planes emergency shoots had been triggered by one of the cabin crew. We were informed by a Thomas Cook rep that we would be diverted to another airport after 7 hours in the airport with 3 children and an angry girlfriend this was not the best start. Eventually a coach arrived to take us to Gatwick by the time we were in the air we had lost a whole day of our holiday and wiped out most of the second as we were all far to tired and slept most of the day.

Thomas Cook had subcontracted the flight and would not offer us any compensation at all. I have an original letter with the flight numbers on but I do not have our tickets or boarding passes. Do Playa Brava have a case to follow this up under the new EU261 rule

When you asked Thomas Cook for compensation, did you make a formal complaint either from your resort or when you returned home? If so, did you get a written response back? And, were you offered a welfare package (such as food and drink) while you were delayed?

If you are unhappy with a response from a tour operator in a case like this, you can use the ABTA arbitration service to help you (find out more here http://abta.com/go-travel/travel-clinic/arbitration-and-mediation). However, the time limit on this service is 18 months from when you return from your holiday, so in your case, this will be too late.

While this is frustrating, it will hopefully be of some help if you ever have an issue like this in the future.

This is brilliant information, I travelled to Turkey 3 years ago and the return flight was delayed over 3 hours, then what should have been a direct flight to Gatwick, the flight diverted to stopped at Manchester Airport for 1.5 hours without any notice to pickup passengers travelling to Turkey before arriving at Gatwick at 12:30 a.m. The following day.

I made a complaint but the reply was that the airline and the delay was covered under the aviation law, Do i still have recourse to compensation?

Was the airline you travelled with an EU airline or was it a Turkish airline? If it was a Turkish airline, you won’t be covered by the EU261 rules and will have to check what the policy is re compensation with the airline you travelled with.

If it was an EU airline, and your flight arrived more than three hours late to Gatwick, you may be entitled to compensation. You could go back to your airline and challenge their response, and if you aren’t happy with how they reply, you can contact the Civil Aviation Authority to help with your claim http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2211&pageid=12725 .

We were delayed for over 6hrs in oct 2012, we applied to monarch airways for compensation but it was refused, also we had paid extra for the earlier flight but we have never got a penny back, should we apply to the CAA for compensation or are we not due any compensation, we did get a small food voucher, which didn’t even cover the cost of a meal.

My husband and I were delayed for 4 hours and 49 mins on a flight from Glasgow to Malta on a Thomas Cook flight on 29 June 2010. I have been in correspondence with TC for 2 years and they are still not willing to admit to a delay in the flight from Glasgow to Malta. We booked independently and only book our flight through TC. I have now recommended my emails with them and the latest email says the following-

I had requested the information directly from the airline for the flight delay that you have detailed in your previous correspondence. The only way I can ensure this information is correct, is for you to supply your holiday reference.

Without this information I am unable to confirm which flight you were on, or if there was any scheduled changes to your flight prior to departure. Please reply by email with your holiday reference, to allow me to confirm you were on that flight. Your travel agent may be able to help you locate your booking reference.

We booked through a company called ‘Going on Holiday’ from Manchester. We have no holiday reference and I have no flight ticket stubs as all of this happened 4 years ago. What should I do?

Our advice is to go back to them with every bit of information you have. They can still find your names on passenger manifests that the airline would hold so do not need your reference, so the date and flight number should be enough to find it. If you have proof of payment then include this as well.

Im afraid this is just a stalling tactic and you should pursue this with them.

Hi,
How long after an incident like this can you make a claim? I travelled to the Dominican Republic in October 2010 with Thomson on an all inclusive holiday. We arrive at the airport for a flight at 10am only to be told it was delayed until 6pm that night due to a technical fault with the plane. We were told we could check in our luggage and go home if we wished or stay in the airport – we were not offered any vouchers/money for food or travel and relied on friends to take us home again and back that evening. We also arrived in the Dominican around midnight instead of early afternoon effectively missing at least one meal and drinks etc that we had paid for as part of the all inclusive package. We intended to complain and claim compensation but by the time we had been on holiday for 2 weeks we didn’t. Do we still have a case for compensation now?

You will still be able to make a claim as you can do so until six years after your delay. You stand the best chance of making a successful claim, however, if you can include all of the relevant documentation (tickets, receipts etc) to support your complaint and if you can detail as clearly as possible what happened on the day of your delay – eg were you told what the technical fault was and what extra costs did you incur?

hi there
my yname is mohammed el amine amaouche i have french passporti booked ticket from jet2 company to travel from alicante spain to braford leeds and that copmany jet2 didnt let me fly for no reason.
so can i complain this company please.

Hi, I was in the Ash cloud, and stuck in Venice. I opted to take the train home rather than wait for Ryan air, as they could not be contacted in any way/email website or calls.

Can I claim for this? I had to take a train and ferry, and 1 night in a hotel in Paris (where the train ended) and it was a low low low cost hotel, that I got a discount for as I was only there for 4 hours.

The ruling on January 31 said that Ryanair had to pay ‘reasonable costs’ to cover passengers’ welfare in the event of a delay. As you didn’t manage to contact Ryanair and agree that they would cover your train, ferry and hotel costs, it is highly unlikely that they would now deem these as reasonable costs.

If you still have all of your receipts and flight tickets, you could contact Ryanair saying that in light of the McDonagh v Ryanair case you would like to claim your expenses back. However there is no guarantee that you will be successful.

We suffered a 25 hour delay on a recent outgoing flight to Goa and a 5 hour delay on the return flight.I contacted Thomas Cook who would not accept responsibility for the outgoing flight but accepted it for the return as the pilot actually advised the reason for the delay.I had claimed a total of 2400 euros ie. 600 euros/person/flight and was sent a voucher for £1006 as compensation for the return flight.I rejected the voucher and was subsequently sent a cheque for the same amount.Thomas Cook rejected the outgoing claim as extraordinary circumstances which I did not accept.I contacted the CAA providing full written correspondence and expect a reply from them in the near future.I have advised Cook’s of CAA’s involvement and have advised that unless they do not provide a valid explanation for the delay (which I had previously requested and was not received), then I would begin Small Claims Court proceedings.I await their response.

Hi
I had 6 hours delay in Kuwait airport due to technical problem in Kuwait airline while I was coming from Cochin (India) with my disable daughter who was in the wheelchair.
Can I claim for the compensation
Please reply.
Thank you
Louis

Were you travelling with an EU airline? If you weren’t, you won’t be covered under the EU261 rules and will have to check the policy of the airline you were travelling with.

If you were travelling with an EU airline, it is worth contacting your airline to find out whether the technical fault was caused by ‘extraordinary circumstances’. It if wasn’t, you can make a claim to your airline, but you will need to provide details of your flights and delay. If you are then unhappy with your airline’s response, you can contact the Civil Aviation Authority here http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2211&pageid=12725 who may be able to help with your claim.

DEAR CATHY. After reading the story above can you help me with problem. I booked a holiday come honeymoon last April and payed two pounds short of £5.000. We arrived at the airport at 9.30 on the 2 of December to check in only to find out the flight had already gone. TO cut a long story short we was given the wrong flight time by virgin cruises they admitted it was their fault and did not fly out till the next day from another airport do we have a case against virgin cruises under the EU 261 rule. virgin cruises sent a Cheque for £130 pounds which i sent back over a week ago still waitting for a reply. Sill got a copy of the flight times they sent me on the 25 of Octember last year. kind regards.
MR J T CONHEENEY

Something similar has just happened to my partner and I. We turned up to the airport only to discover our flight was just about to leave. Our travel agent admitted it was their mistake and that they had given us an incorrect flight time. They then flew us out on another flight (via a different airport rather than direct as we had booked). The problem was that we arrived 24 hours after we were supposed to and we were severely jet lagged due to the extra travel. I’d really appreciate some help and advice on the best way to maximise our compensation.

Cathy, would you be able to offer me some help as well please? Please let me know if you need any more information from me. We were due to fly from Gatwick to Punta Cana with Thomas Cook, but ended up flying from Heathrow to Atlanta, and then the next morning down to Punta Cana with Delta.

I was in dispute with Monarch after they delayed our flight for 7 hours and then, when snow fell, they canceled it and claimed ‘extraordinary circumstances’. They admitted that there had been nothing wrong with our aircraft but they had taken it to deal with another issue – presumably a delay, which is why we were then delayed.

As far as I’m concerned Monarch created the initial problem that caused the delay and, had they not done so, we would have departed 7 hours before the snow set in and thus they would have had no excuse to cancel.

They failed to uphold every single requirement of EC261, including no food, no calls and no accommodation. When the flight was canceled they unceremoniously dumped us back in the freezing cold check-in area at 11pm with no way of getting home until transport started running again at 5am. Hundreds of us, including many old and disabled, spent the night standing up in freezing conditions. There were no Monarch reps available and we were only given very basic info by the airport services personnel.

I, and my fellow passengers were absolutely disgusted and Monarch’s response was to deny all responsibility. They eventually sent me a cheque for £11 to cover some expenses for food and drink.

Can I go back and re-state my claim and would they have to pay out now?

BTW. The ECJ ruled that mechanical faults did not constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ some years back. I can’t remember the case number but the explanation was that mechanical failures were standard and expected problems and should be part of the airlines day-to-day problem handling.

I would start by approaching Monarch once again in the light of the recent cases.

If you then remain unhappy with the responses you have received from Monarch, and have copies of all of the correspondence between you and them, the Civil Aviation Authority may be able to help with your case. You can find out more here http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2211&pageid=12725

I had already involved the CAA in my original claim and, although they thought that Monarch’s refusal to pay up was a poor decision, they seemed to have no powers to make them do so. As useless as a chocolate teapot.

I will get back to them and ask again if they consider how the new ruling affects this case. I strongly believe that, as Monarch deliberately caused the original delay, that they should have paid up regardless of the subsequent cancellation.

Hi stuart i have a very siumular case, please let me know how you got on

We had a delay of over 24 hours on a return flight from Cancun to Gatwick. On the day of our return everything was going to plan right up to the time of departure. Some of us passengers had even boarded the plane and taken our seats ready for take off. It was at this time we were then quickly asked to leave the plane.
Amongst utter confusion we were told to go to a different gate where there was another Cook airplane waiting. While at the same time the passengers who had previously been at this other gate had started boarding our plane. Confused we watched what was our plane take off while we were still waiting.
It was at this time everyone started to demand what was happening. It was then they informed us that the plane we were now given had a technical fault and it would’nt be until tomorrow before they could even fly another part from London. When questioned over swapping planes, they answered it was to T Cooks benefit that the Manchester passenger commandeerd our plane because of some knock on effect.
We contacted T Cook several times who have dug their heels in saying our delay was due to a technical nature, which were extraordinary,
I find I difficult to swallow about technical natures and such like, because the plane we had took off on time but to Manchester not Gatwick. Reason for our delay was T Cook denied us boarding our scheduled flight and bounced us to one they already new had a fault and a long delay. Can we claim maybe under operational decision by the airline.

hi me and my husband booked to go to nerja in2010 for a month.we booked with bmi baby,we lost a week of or holiday owing to the volcanic ash,the only thing i didnt keep any proof like tickets or proof of the villa we stayed in,my husband was ill at the time and was having different tests to find out the following may that he had terminal cancer and has since died.cani claim anything from the airline company or not. many thanks mrs.eileen welsh.

Having spoken to the CAA and also British Airways this morning you can indeed make a claim for an EU261 compensation claim with them for bmibaby for anything up to six years ago. This is because BA bought the carrier and decided to close it down as opposed to it going out of business due to company failure.

Hello,my self and my wife and 4 kids went to Pakistan in late December 2011 ,and came back on janury 15 th 2012.going was good.but when we were coyming back we were in the plane and we were told that the plane has to stop in turky for 20 minutes for refuling.when got to turky plane took over 2 hours and our normal 8 hours flight took more than 14 hours. Flight was pia now can I do somthing about that.

As PIA is not an EU airline and you weren’t travelling from an EU airport, you won’t be covered by the EU261 rules. You’ll need to check what PIA’s policy is regarding flight delays to find out if you can make a claim.

Hi Cathy,
We were delayed at Birmingham Airport flying on Emirates flight to Delhi on the 24 Jan 13 The Delay was 5 hours,hence we missed our connecting flight in Dubai.In Dubai due to lack of organisation we literaly stood in the queue for 6 hours to get another flight to Delhi.Their was no supervisors to coordinate the queues and only 3 counter staff to deal with 200 passengers in 5 rows of queue.eventually we did get our flight to Delhi missing our first day of itenary of Delhi.Do i have any rights of compensation from Emirates as they have not replied to my e mail.I am due to fly back to UK on the 20 Feb 2013.

It sounds as though you do, unless they can claim ‘extraordinary circumstances’ for the delay from Birmingham. There is no claim for the delay in Dubai but you should make a claim for the first flight, they tend to offer Skyawards points rather than cash, but you do not have to accept them

We were delayed by 21 hours at Birmingham last month on a Thomson flight to Barbados to join a cruise. The original aircraft had a fault and another had to be sent for, by the time it arrived it was snowing and eventually the airport was closed for a few hours. No information was forthcoming, we eventually got a voucher for £5 for food and drink (bit of a joke) and after many hours we were bussed to hotels. However, we were asked to wait next to an outside door for the buses in the freezing cold for 2 hours, the hotel room was cold, we had to queue for a hot meal which the hotel provided and again for breakfast in the morning, after only a few hours sleep. The ship had waited because there were 3 planes delayed that day but we had lost in effect 2 days of our holiday as originally the day after we arrived was to be a sea day, allowing us to recover from the journey, but it was changed and we had to be up early again the following morning to go on a trip in St Vincent.
We have submitted a claim to P&O who had chartered the plane, but so far have not received a reply.

Can you clarify the exact point in time that the delay time comes into effect? i.e. Is the delayed departure time the time that the aircraft leaves the gate? boards a bus to go to the plane on the tarmac? take off time?.

The actual departure time is the scheduled departure time.
Regards
John

My husband and myself travelled from East Midlands Airport to Dalaman Turkey in June 2011 the flight was due at 8.a.m. and we were told it was delayed for 2 hours at approx 11 a.m. we were told it would be delayed for another 2 hours at 2 p.m. we were told by a member of staff from Monarch that we would have to travel by coach to Manchester Airport to pick up the plane there you can imagine the uproar in the airport.We also had to return our duty free to the shop. After travelling to Manchester we eventually boarded the plane at approx 8.30 p.m. we finally arrived at our apartment at 4 a.m. the following morning. We were given vouchers for food in Manchester but no other compensation and no proper explanation as to why we were delayed.
Regards
Sheila

I flew from Heathrow to Perth via Hong Kong in July 2012, with Cathay Pacific. Cathay knew that there was a typhoon in HK prior to our departure from London but did not inform passengers. We landed in HK on time, however, I then had a 25 hour wait (total delay from scheduled departure time to Perth was approximately 18 hours). The airline refused to put me in a hotel overnight.
Whilst I accept that the initial delay was due to ‘exceptional circumstances’ subsequent delays were due to the following reasons: baggage loaded onto wrong plane, flight crew had overworked their hours, plane did not have enough fuel. The real kick in the teeth was that Cathay flights due to depart after ours were taking off well before us.
As I result of the delay, I missed my first day of a new job in Perth, and a days wages.
Cathay refused to compensate me, as did my insurers, please could you advise if I might be entitled to anything?

Certainly not under EU261 as the delay appears to have been at Hong Kong, you need to read your insurance policy carefully, some pay out with delays ‘en route’ some only on departure where there appears to have been no delay at all

on 14th april 2010 we flew out to rimini italy from liverpool on a football tour with doncaster rovers centre of excellence. there were about 65 of us including coaches, players and parents and the ash cloud was just starting but ryanair still took us.(i still have the boarding cards)

we were due to fly back on 18th april but ryanair cancelled all flights.doncaster rovers had to pay for another night in the hotel we were staying in and all food. we were told to contact the airport the next day which we did. still no flights. most of us had already lost a days pay and the players had missed time off school.

in the end as we were stuck doncaster rovers had to get a coach and a minibus to travel from doncaster to rimini to pick us up. then we had a 27hour drive and ferry crossing to get us back home.

Once people chose to make their own way home, EU261 only says you can reclaim the cost of the unused ticket, all the other expenses are at your own cost. If you had stayed, you could have claimed the cost of accommodation but you didn’t, sorry

My wife and I had our flight cancelled due to the infamous ash cloud. We were flying with Ryanair back from Malaga. Eventually we hired cars and via SNCF in France and Eurostar made our way back overland. The rules were not clear about who did what and indeed seemed to be written “on the hoof” by the airlines. Their airdesks in Spain knew nothing and were unable to help although they tried. So we took control and got back home. We could not get any money back our insurance company was useless(now changed) and I am still aggrieved at being close to £1000.00 out of pocket.

My party of 4 were subject to an 15hr delay. Although the company did put us up in a hotel over night there care ended there. The following day we were transported early back to the airport only to have a further 6hr delay. I have written twice to the airline but as yet am still waiting a reply
What should my next move be ?? the county court ?
Dave

Were you a passenger on Thomas Cook Airlines Flight No. UK2218 due to depart from Manchester to Faro at 06.15 on Saturday September 15th. 2012? The aircraft finally took of at 12.01 and arrived at Faro at 14.34 instead of the scheduled 09.10. i.e. it arrived 5 hours 24 mins. late.
Thomas Cook have now accepted a Claim under EU Regulation 261/2004 for this flight and have given a credit voucher for £715 in respect of 2 passengers on this flight.
The reasons for accepting this Claim were given as ‘I can confirm that the aircraft was delayed due to a technical fault, however this is something that we should have been able to rectify’
By the rules of equality every passenger on that flight is now entitled to an equal compensation simply by requesting same from Thomas Cook. There is no need to use Claim advisers or Solicitors or their ilk. A simple letter stating the facts should suffice.
I strongly feel that all accepted claims under the EU Regulation should be published in this manner to encourage all affected passengers to Claim and obtain their rightful compensation for these delays.
It would be nice to think that the Airline Operators would write to their passengers informing them of their rights in such cases, but I think that may be a step too far in Customer relations.

Hello we was delayed 5 hours on a Thomas cook flight to Lanzarote last year, the only problem is I never kept the tickets ot boarding passes, but surely they must have details of who was on that flight? Is it better to write an actual letter or email that via their customer relations email?

Glad to hear your claim settled. We were delayed 8hours recently and Thomas Cook are refusing our claim, even though they admit technical fault , they say itwas unpredictable !! Did they settle your claim quickly or did it necessitate more than a few letters.
Thank you
Seal

my friend and i were held up for a week in gambia with the ash cloud we were with cosmos who fed us and provided a hotel but i was several hundreds out of pocket with phone bills medications running out and other expenses can i claim for the delay ?

Same here my wife and I Marooned on malta for 8 days
Air Malta did not even pay for a bottle of water as it was we fed a whole family from coventry for a week
the hotel let them stay at no cost BUT AIR MALTA never paid 1 penny, I DID MAKE A CLAIM IN 2010 BUT AIR MALTA SAID I DID NOT HAVE A CLAIM We travel a lot as Iam retired and we would not fly air malta
we would walk or swim first And get this on the flight back to the uk flight stewart droped a cup of tea in my lap.

holiday with thompson in 14/03/2012 take off time 10.00am didnt take off untill 15/03/2012 12.30 pm we were put up in hotel over night, wrote to head office they said we were not intitiled to any compensation,so we have no tickets any more what can we do.
Thanks
P.Andrews

Hi Cathy.
This July me and my boyfriend flew to Kiev Borispol from London Gatwick with Aerosvit Airlines. The original transaction was made with opodo.com
Our flight was delayed by just over 5 hours, despite me having never had a problem with the airline – they were always on time or early for landing. This time, there was a hideous delay, where no-one had informes us of why the delay had occurred in the first place, and the departure time kept getting pushed back on the screen without a single explanation from the staff – i tried asking but they apparently were not informed. Then once we eventually boarded onto the place, soon we had to stop for a Refuel in Germany. Once we did land, we had to wait for several hours to claim our baggage, again no information from the staff as to why the problems were happening. We were scheduled to arrive at around 7.30pm, but had actually left the airport at 2am!
I have since drafted and sent a formal letter to the airline, including all the details of the delay and the passenger booking details. They had sent me a reply two weeks later on the lines of, your claim is being considered and we will contact you once any decision is made. I have rang them numerous time on their on-line voice chat and the staff simply told me fibs – the customer service operatives have a day off; the manager is not there; send another email as the email i sent it to doesn’t work (clearly it does as i did get some form of a reply); and at any mention of flight delay compensation they just stall and pretend to not understand, saying that the customer services staff will contact you in a few days time. It has been a week and a half since then, and I have contacted them again about it just not, being told that the claim will be processed in 3 months. I also have some useless correspondence over the online chat (log) on the same lines, but truly useless.
I’m not sure what to do, as I have been considering to pursue the claim in the small claims court and will be seeing a legal advisor about it tomorrow.
Could you please give me some advise as to what to do about it?
P.S: we were not offered anything such as phone calls, food vouchers or anything as such during our long wait in Gatwick.

I received the following response from Thomson despite meeting all the criteria and am not sure on my next course of action

Without Prejudice

Please Quote:

Dear Mr xxx

Thank you for your correspondence.

Here at Thomson Airways, we are committed to on-time performance across our flying programme. Doing everything we reasonably can to get our aircraft to their destinations, and you on holiday, safely and on time is really important to us.

We invest significantly in operational initiatives, engineering excellence and having a modern fleet; they all help to keep the frequency and duration of delays to a bare minimum. As a result, for the past few years, Thomson Airways has been one of the best performing airlines in the UK and has been able to keep the title of most on-time charter airline.

Very occasionally, though, and despite our very best efforts to prevent delays, they can occur and we are truly sorry that your flight was delayed in the way that you have described.

Delays are always a disappointment for us, not only in respect of the effect that they have on passenger enjoyment and comfort, but also as there is a real financial cost to us in circumstances which are almost always not our fault. That cost makes offering the best value fares and holidays much more of a challenge.

In a limited number of circumstances Regulation 261/2004 of the European Union (“the Regulation”) now entitles some affected customers to a payment when their flight is delayed over three hours on arrival.

The European Court of Justice has confirmed that, as the Regulation doesn’t say how long passengers have to bring their claims, we need to look at our national law. The Supreme Court in the UK has said that all claims to do with “international carriage by air” need to be brought within two years. We, therefore, can’t consider claims for flights that were delayed more than two years ago.

Keeping an eye on the purpose and spirit of the Regulation and doing that while continuing to deliver real value to our customers is a challenge that can only be met by applying the law robustly and not making payments where there is no entitlement. If we didn’t apply the rules in this way, prices would need to rise for you and all other customers.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. And rest assured that we are doing all we reasonably can to ensure that your future flights with Thomson Airways arrive on-time.

I have had an issue with Thomas cook where I was delayed over24 hours in Jamaica. After 5 letters to them they have agreed that I am entitled to compensation, but they have sent me a voucher to use on my next holiday. Do I have to except this or can I insist on a personal cheque? I was requesting for five people at the highest rate, so I was expecting €3500 but they have sent me a voucher for £2707. I don’t know which exchange rate they have used either because that doesn’t work out right.
Any further help on this would be appreciated.
Julie x

4 years ago the family were in turkey and i was ill and so was my daughter in law we had a 3+ hour delay at bodrum airport with not even a cup of water offered to the children on getting back into gatwick we were told because of our delay the baggage handlers had been sent home and we ended up waiting another 3 hours to get our bags and pushchair of the plain my daughter in law was pregnant and one week after gettin home had to have surgery to removed her appendix and at the same time in got told the reason i was ill on holiday was i had cancer same as jade goody but thankfully both me and my daughter in law are well and my beautifull granddaughter who she was pregnant with is also
can i claim compensation ther were 6 adults and 2 children in our party please help !!!!!

Hi My Husband and I booked our honeymoon last year to Tunisia from Gatwick our flight was delayed for over 10 hours! I have since emailed Thomas Cooks customer service team and they replied that they were sorry and that they hope that it didnt ruin our speical holiday!!The fact remains we lost a night and of course due to needing sleep, a day, of our honeymoon, is there anything more we can do? We feel after paying for 7 nights and only having 6 we have been cheated.

I travelled to cancun with 4 friends in 2009, the package was with Thomas cook. We were delayed for 16 hours coming home and received a letter when we landed at Manchester saying the reason for the delay was due to Thomas cook fleet and crew working hours, I still have the letter and sent it to Thomas cook by email and now by letter but had no response. Do I have a claim in your opinion?

Hi, if you travel to Turkey on a package holiday with a Turkish airline and are delayed over 3 hours, do you claim from the tour operator or directly from the airline and in fact are you able to claim at all given that it’s a Turkish airline? Thanks.

Just back from Antalya turkey package holiday with Thomas cook flight home to glasgow was 22.45 sat 4th may never boarded till 2am 5th may a ll we got was complimentary drink never flying with Thomas cook again we had an hour delay on flight out to antalya

Hi, I was delayed with Cyprus Airways from Manchester to Larnaca by nearly 5 hours. I made a claim for compensation from Cyprus Airways, however they have stated extra-ordinary circumstances. I have asked for them to explain the extra-ordinary circumstance further, however they have just said they stand by their decision. i have made a complaint to the CAA, however not heard anything in 8 weeks now despite phonecalls and emails. Are the airlines obliged to inform us of the extra-ordinary circumstance?

We recently had a delay from Cuba back to the uk for just under 24 hrs due to a fault on the plane, we were left in the airport for 6 hrs with no offer of food and drink vouchers. We were eventually returned to a hotel over night and the flight continued the following day.
Am I entitled to compensation?

We have put in a claim against Aer Lingus for a delay in 2007.
They have rejected this claim for being older than 2 years which apparently exceeds their own limit on claims. Can they do this?
Many thanks.

Hi Cathy
In 2010 I claimed for 1 weeks board and hotel costs from AIR malta I sent all of the receipts i had after about a week they replyed and said i had no case in law now considering the ryan air ruleing can I make a new claim? they still have all my receipts but I have my bank statments.

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I submitted the reccomended letter over a month ago, it was signed for on the 18th April 2003 10.33am by a representative of Thomas Cook, no correspondence since has been received at all.

I had submitted 3 letters last year, the first couple they replied to then it all went quiet towards the end of the Year (presumably awaiting this outcome?)

The last one I received from them dated 11 Sept 2012 said they would further respond to their own correspondence within 28 days but like i said nothing further received..

Original compaint to them was based around a 7 hour delay at Newcastle Airport (flying to Cyprus on Flight TCX6236 on the 24th July 2012),& when we finally boarded the plane they then told us as the crew had been waiting the same time they had to change them at Manchester, so we were diverted to there, further delayed until we got a landing slot by over an hour then on the tarmac for over a further hour and a half as they awaited the new flight crew and then a take off slot.. no further compensatory refreshments were offered beyond the £7 vouchers offered at Newcastle early that morning.

Thus delayed now by over 10 hours, arrival in Cyprus and transfer to the Hotel for midnight meant I and my two daughters (8 & 11)had missed the all inclusive day and entertainment for the 24th July with only a dry ham sandwich, an orange and a bottle of water in the hotel Room for us..(All inclusive meant I had to pay as 2 adults and one child).

I submitted the reccomended letter over a month ago, it was signed for on the 18th April 2013 10.33am by a representative of Thomas Cook, no correspondence since has been received at all.

I had submitted 3 letters last year, the first couple they replied to then it all went quiet towards the end of the Year (presumably awaiting this outcome?)

The last one I received from them dated 11 Sept 2012 said they would further respond to their own correspondence within 28 days but like i said nothing further received..

Original compaint to them was based around a 7 hour delay at Newcastle Airport (flying to Cyprus on Flight TCX6236 on the 24th July 2012),& when we finally boarded the plane they then told us as the crew had been waiting the same time they had to change them at Manchester, so we were diverted to there, further delayed until we got a landing slot by over an hour then on the tarmac for over a further hour and a half as they awaited the new flight crew and then a take off slot.. no further compensatory refreshments were offered beyond the £7 vouchers offered at Newcastle early that morning.

Thus delayed now by over 10 hours, arrival in Cyprus and transfer to the Hotel for midnight meant I and my two daughters (8 & 11)had missed the all inclusive day and entertainment for the 24th July with only a dry ham sandwich, an orange and a bottle of water in the hotel Room for us..(All inclusive meant I had to pay as 2 adults and one child).

Hello – we booked return flights from Munich to new York. Both outgoing and return flights were excessively delayed\canceled.

Flights were booked directly through Lufthansa. The return leg was however operated by air Canada.

Could you advise on the strengths of our claim.

Outgoing:

We had been flying one hour, and debris believed to be from our plane’s landing gear was found on the runway. We were now over Frankfurt. We turned around to land at Munich,so clearly no emergency. Captain advised another plane was prepped, and we would simply move to it with our existing crew. At this time just 2 hours delay. There was no plane being prepped for us. In fact they advised we would now fly back to Frankfurt, change planes and crew. Then eventually they flew a plane from Frankfurt with a new crew to take us directly to new York. The captain new nothing of our delay.

The original damage could have been due to Lufthansa’s fault, but with the promised plane, we would have been on or way within the 4 hour threshold. However total 7.5 hour delay seems completely in their control. And why not land at Frankfurt, since we turned around there, since our next plane came from Frankfurt. I can only assume they were avoiding financial penalties.

Inbound:
The main question here is due to the fact that the carrier was air Canada, even though we booked directly with Lufthansa.

Then there is a further complication. We had a connecting flight, both operated by the same carrier. A 2 hour delay meant our connection was missed. 1 hour due to a missing crew member, another hour fixing a problem -they had not done the checks until the stewardess arrived!

In fact we asked them if they could hold the connecting flight, and we landed in time to make it if they had held it for just 15 minutes, but nobody had informed the airport, despite numerous requests from passengers. More than 10 passengers were affected. Air Canada’s response was appalling but that’s more a complaint for the airline.
But is our claim here to Lufthansa, as we booked with them? Also if the plane we should have been on landed on time, are we still entitled dir to the connecting flights problem.

I was booked on a Ryanair flight from Glasgow to Paris Beauvais that was cancelled because of snow in France. Ryanair instructed us to travel to Edinburgh, stay overnight, and take a flight from Edinburgh to Paris the next morning. However, that flight also was cancelled due to snow. Ryanair then informed us that we would have to wait in Edinburgh an additional 2 days before we could return to Paris (this was where our travel had originated). In checking around the Edinburgh airport, I discovered that several other carriers were flying to Paris that same day. (By midday, all the Paris airports including Beauvais had reopened and were operating normally.) However, Ryanair refused to book us on another carrier and insisted we had to wait two more days. I could not afford to take 3 days off from work, and so at my own expense I bought tickets back to Paris on Air France. In reading EU 261, it says that in case of cancellation, the passenger has to be offered the “earliest available” next flight. Could I therefore claim compensation from Ryanair since they refused to do this?

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hi had a holiday booked to the dominican commonweath, with my 9 year old nephew ,on 24 december 2012 last year flight was delayed when arrived at babados the connecting flight had gone none of the flight company took responablity for that they did tell me that there was nothing they could do except to get a hotel for the night which i had to pay for and then get a flight the next day which i did not have to pay for
could you tell me who would be responably

Hello some advice would be appreciated. My wife and I travelled with Thomson Airways from Gatwick to Cancun earlier this week. On the outgoing flight 2 of the toilets went out of order within 1 hour of take off. A few hours later the Captain announced that the remaining toilets had now gone out of order and that we would need to turn back and divert to Bermuda and where they would be able service the fault and refuel. After 2 hours the Captain announced that we would have to stay the night as the
Pilots would otherwise go over their allowed working hours. After a few more hours of hanging around the airport we were all put up in a hotel and given a small food allowance. The following morning we flew to Cancun arriving just short of 24 hours late.

Would we be legally due any compensation from the airline? After all we lost one day of our holiday and hotel booking. Many thanks

We were on an easyjet flight from Faro to liverpool ,when we boarded the aircraft we were told that they needed 45 out of the 145 passengers to either be redirected to another airport ie Belfast or Gatwick and be bused back to Liverpool or a small number of that 45 could stay overnight in Faro and accommodation and meals and compensation of 400 Euros would be provided to each passenger. Due to a death in the family and my son having exams we needed to be back home asap. Easyjet left us waiting on the tarmac on the aircraft for 3 and a half hours without any food or drink until we got clearance to fly. They said this was because on the way down to Faro they used some of the oxygen supply on a gentleman who wasn’t well and they had no policy in place to replace the oxygen therefore they were only carrying enough for 100 passengers. Are we entitled to compensation too? Once we were up in the air Easyjet offered us a free non alcoholic drink???

Last month i went to Miami with BA from Heathrow. the flight were going to take off at 1.25pm and after we boarded on time for take off the flight was delayed for more than 4 hours because of Ingeniering issues. They kept us in the plane and just gave us some drinks. But food wasnt serve until the flight toke off so 6.

They also never gave us food and as we were on the plane already we never had the chance to get out of the plane to buy our own food.

Hi can u help me. I was due to flights home yesterday from mallorca to Birmingham I had put my bagage through and had 30 mins left until boarding. I checked the board and my flights had been canceled. I am flying with ryanair and to be fair they have put me in a b an b. However I was all I inclusive before I left for the airport I have no money and there is me my husband and 2 children and they have said they cannot fly us .back until il Sunday. I don’t know what to do. Please help

my parents were delayed 2 years in a row for more than 5hrs 1 time thier plane was needed to pick up passengers from anotherairport as thier plane broke down wrote to thomas cook they dithered a bit were looking in to it then a month later said you need boarding passes i sent copys of stamped passports at america,check in sticker was wstill on the back of our passport and bank statment of bill what else can i do write to caa or make them give me data protection information they have on us as we hoilday with them

Last week 4 freinds and I were travelling back from bulgaria from a Package holiday booked with thomas cook. On the transfer back to the airport for a 03:45 flight the bus was turned around and we were told there would be at least a 12 hour delay. We were taken back to the airport and given a room that we had to check out of at 12:00. We then were taken back to the airport at about 13:00 and given a sandwich and a bottle of pop. our flight finally departed at 17:10 almost 13 and a half hours late.
I was wondering if we were entitled to any kind of compensation with it being a return flight?

We were delayed 3/4 days in Cuba when the ash cloud happened, although Thomas Cook were brilliant and allowed us to stay in the hotel and provide us with food and drink etc, my husband however lost work because of it and he is a self employed DJ with Weddings booked, we spent nearly £100 on phone calls arranging cover and had to reimburse deposit that had already been paid. Are we entitled to claim any sort of compensation? Any advice very much appreciated.

Me and my family where delayed 9 hours on our return flights from Cyprus, even though we booked per booked sets we still weren’t sitting together. After being told the whole journey to the airport and in the airport our seats would still be honoured At check in we were told we weren’t. On the plane they told us were were going to either Brussels or London Gatwick it was only on the decent were we’re told they had made it to manchester. After waiting 48 days for a reply Thompson have said it isn’t there responsibility to compensate us?? This can’t be true??

We flew with Thomas Cook from Gatwick to Dalaman on 31 July 2013. The flight was scheduled to leave Gatwick at 9am, but as the transmission tunnel was being moved away from the plane in preparation for take off, it got jammed to the side of the plane due to human error. After it was eventually removed, we all got told to get off the plane as it was unable to be flown because of the damage. We were delayed for over 8 hours as Thomas Cook had to bring a plane down from Manchester airport, meaning we did not leave Gatwick until after 5pm. Thomas Cook did provide us with a food voucher each for use in the airport, but are we able to claim compensation against the airline for the delay?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

My husband and I had booked a flight with Thomas Cooke in May 2013 from Belfast International to Majorca. Our flight was delayed approx. 20hrs due to mechanical fault. We received £100 compensation from Thomas Cooke but I now hear we should have been paid a lot more. Is there any way we can claim the extra compensation we should have had.

Hi My wife and 2 children were recently delayed for a ryanair flight from bristol airport to Girona for 11 hours due to technical issues with the plane that they wedre loaded onto and subsequently unloaded. after a few hours they were given some food vouchers.
Ryanairs website states they do not give monatary compensation for delays can you please confirm if this is right and can they state that if other airlines do give compensation.
i have had an email (which ariived after they did finally take off!!) saying that my only rights were to change the flight to another day (subject to availabilty) or a refund.
both of which would of been useless due to accomodation booked at the other end,
any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Steve

We just flew back from Ireland on a USAirways flight that was six hours delayed due to a maintenance issue. We sat at the gate for three hours and the pilot said they were talking with engineers deciding if the part needed to be fixed, or if they could proceed without repairing. At the three hour mark, they told us they were going to fix, and we could all get off and go into the terminal where they would have waters and boxed sandwiches for us. We did, then about two hours later, got back on the plane. We sat for about another hour while they finished up and signed off on everything. When we left, it was six hours late, and we missed our connecting flight in Philadelphia. They gave us a hotel voucher, and four meal vouchers (four passengers on the reservation, $10 each). The next morning we had the first flight home. We both had to take the extra day off work. Being the flight was from an EU country, are we entitled to monetary compensation? The airline just emailed four vouchers for future flight for $800 each, and they can only be used for one flight regardless of cost, and expire in one year. I would prefer cash compensation as we won’t be able to go away again within one year.

Hi – We were due to fly back to Leeds from Palma Majorca with Thomson Airlines at 8pm (family of six including two small children) but were told at 5pm at the hotel reception that the flight was delayed and the coach would not be taking us to the airport and to wait for more information. Thankfully meals and drinks were provided at the hotel. We eventually were picked up at midnight and checked in at Palma airport at 1am. However our flight did not take off until 5am – a total of 9 hours delay.
On return to the UK we received a letter stating this was due to industrial action. However we had learned the original flight from Leeds to Palma the previous morning had been severely delayed due to a technical fault and they had to find an alternative plane at Manchester airport. This plane then made another trip back to Teeside Airport and then back to Palma before our flight took off – further extending our delay.
I wrote to Thomson who confirmed the delay was due to a technical fault on an earlier flight, not the industrial action as per the letter, but they were covered by the extraordinary circumstances clause and would not pay out.
We had two exhausted young children and two exhausted OAP’s with us, we were 9 hours delayed and had to take additional days off work and nursery/school on our return.
1. They lied about the cause of the delay
2. They exacerbated our delay by providing other flights elsewhere first
3. They picked us up at midnight at our hotel knowing they wouldn’t then have to provide us with overnight accomodation.
Am I right to pursue this further?
Many thanks.

We were on the Leeds flight which was then moved to Manchester. We were delayed 11 hours with a baby and a toddler and still have not received a response from Thomson! I would be interested to hear if you were successful in the end.

Are you aware of any claims for a Thomas cook airline delay on 6 June this year , flight TcX4468. Delayed at Birmingham, flight allowed to take off but then had to return to UK after approx 1hour as the fault had not been rectified . Further delay then at Manchester , replacement aircraft. Approx 8hour delay. Thomas Cook have claimed ‘extraordinary circumstances’ ! I have written 3 responses. They reply quickly but have said … no compensation.
Sal

Having read some of these blogs reassured that perhaps my claim against MONARCH Airlines may eventually be settled- I have lodged details with CAA for over 6months to compensate me for a delay of over 10hours regarding a Gatwick to Lanzarote flight on 1st Nov 2012 which Monarch maintained was due to “extraordinary circumstances” defined as a technical fault with the landing gear on a previous flight.
It seems up until now the airlines have been able to quote extraordinary circumstances for effectively bad management and/or under resourcing of their company. It is about time that legal opinion has begun to correct the injustice suffered by the travelling public-

I was delayed for 13 hours – Easyjet flight from Edinburgh to Lisbon on 28/7/13. I’ve been corresponding by letter and email with their customer services. EasyJet are refusing to pay compensation on the basis that it was a technical fault with the Flight Control Elevator which caused the safety problem and this was therefore an extraordinary circumstance.
I don’t accept this on basis of EC regulation and subsequent court case. Is there anyone else out there who was on this flight and experiencing the same problem with their claim?

We were delayed for 23 hours. We boarded the aircraft and then were told that there was a defective wing flap. Engineers had to fly over from UK to fix it. We were taken to a (dreadful) hotel for the night and then delayed nearly 2 hours again the next morning.
Is a broken flap an “extraordinary circumstance”? I now issues that come to light “immediately prior to departure” are also excluded so is it worth claiming compensation? Should the airline have been able to provide an alternative aircraft sooner ie were they negligent in handling the problem? Thanks for any advice.

I was delayed at Gatwick for 7 hours on 22 Feb 2009, the flight was to dominica with thomson to join a 14 day caribean cruise. We were not told what the problem was. Unfortunately I don’t have the tickets, can I claim compensation and how should I proceed?

I flew with an airline called skywings which is a company based in greece, athens. I flew from birmingham to corfu, flight was delayed by 3 and a half hours flying out. The returning flight we were delayed by 6 & a half hours and also had an unscheduled stop to refuel which took 2hours. I have all details of the flights from 2011. Can i claim & whats the best way? Thanks

I had a flight delay with Thomas cook for 22 and a half hours from mexico to gatwick back in April. I complained about the delay and was told sorry for the inconvenience by Thomas cook. The delay was due to our plane being used for an earlier flight as the scheduled plane developed a fault. So i complained again stating the eu law and am currently waiting response. I have asked for compensation for everyone in our party and was wondering would my 1 year old qualify for compensation as he did not have his own seat?
I only ask as i have received such bad customer service from Thomas cook and do not think they could tell the truth to save their lives!!! thanks

I have a claim in progress with Thomas Cook from October 2008 when our return flight from Heraklion, Crete was delayed by 21 hours. We were put up in an awful hotel in Heraklion from 3am until 4pm the following day, until we were taken back to the airport. Thomas Cook have admitted there was a technical fault with the plane and have offered me £150 off my next Thomas Cook holiday! There were 2 adults and 1 child on this holiday. Does this seem like fair compensation?

My daughter and a friend were travelling back from tenerife to leeds Bradford via Jet 2 in August 2013. Their flight was deleyed because the plane travelling out from Leeds suffered a technical problem. Jet 2 eventually arranged for another plane to be brought from Mancheter (?) to fly out the outgoing passengers to Tenerife to collect my daughter’s flight. However the flight crew on this plane could not fly out to Tenerife until the following day because they would have exceeded their permittable hours in the air. The outcome was that duaghter having been supposed to fly out at circa 7.00pm on a Friday could not fly home until 2pm the following day.

Jet 2 did provide a welfare packege by way of overnight accommodation, food/drink and transport to /from airport. However the plane home had very limited refreshments on board and were alocating each passenger a drink of waer at least. However my daughter and friend were asleep when this was being given out and when they awoke there was none left for them. So they had a 5 hour flight withoutr anything at all to eat/drink.

Are there grounds for compensation under EU regulations for these circumstances. She does have travel insurance that provides £50 to cover ancillary costs.

Hi
We were due to fly to Tenerife with Monarch Airlines at 09:50 ion 23rd August. Following boarding a passenger noticed a chip in a window and we were forced to exit the aircraft and return to the airport. We were told that an update would be given at 14:30 and at that time we were told a lunch would be provided. This was the only information we were given. After lunch we were told we would be flying that evening as the aircraft was returned. We went through security to departures and even when we asked if we were definitely going to be departing we were told that the aircraft was fixed and we would be flying. However we werethe t old. O crew was available and we would therefore not be leaving that evening.

We were told we would be given hotel accommodation and that our flight would leave at 6am, 21 hours later than scheduled. We had to be at the airport at 4am yet we were it given a hotel room until 1:45am so we had just 2 hours.

Our flight on Saturday left one hour late and we were told they were “trying to locate the baggage”.

I have made a complaint go Monarch and requested a full refund of the ticket because at no point were we told that we could claim a refund and not accept further assistance from Monarch. Monarch has told me we can complete a claim for the 22 hour delay and give me a cheque for £30 as we were. It offered a phone call but they will not refund because it was my duty to ask about options. I can’t believe this would be so – please can you advise.

I tried contacting the CAA but I have been told that as the airport where the delay took place was in Tenerife, I need to contact the CAA equivalent in that country. Is this correct and how do i go about doing this?

my family and i boarded a Ryanair flight expecting to take off more or less straight away but as soon as we sat on our seats were were informed of a 3hour delay. My question is can airlines board you without informing you of a delay??? they sent me a text message 2 hours into the delay telling me of the delay and to watch the screens for further information. what a joke!

also, they never offered us any food or drink but insist that they did, how can i prove them wrong on this?

my family and i boarded a Ryanair flight expecting to take off more or less straight away but as soon as we sat on our seats were were informed of a 3hour delay. My question is can airlines board you without informing you of a delay??? they sent me a text message 2 hours into the delay telling me of the delay and to watch the screens for further information. what a joke!

also, they never offered us any food or drink but insist that they did, how can i prove them wrong on this?

Thomas Cook flight was delayed by 7 hours from Gatowick to Antayla in June 2013. Knew if I went direct, TC would fobb me off, so to save time, hassle and constant excuses, employed a firm on a no win no fee basis. Yes they deduct 25% of compensation but to me its free money, and best of all, TC have already confirmed they will settle the claim. All I had to do was fill in a 2 minute form, forget about it and let the company do all the chasing. 25% of compensation well spent I think, hopefully I will spend the other 75% just as wisely.

I recently wrote to Air France regarding my entitled compensation. Our flight from Rome to Paris was delayed for 71 minutes and we subsequently missed our connecting Air France flight from Paris to San Francisco. We were not offered a replacement flight until the next morning. I know I qualify under the regulations for compensation, but they just replied back and said the flight delay was “due to unexpected aircraft damage. This is beyond an airline’s
control and constitutes “extraordinary circumstances.” They offered me a $150 gift. I’ve done a lot of research and many people say that aircraft damage alone does not necessarily constitute “extraordinary circumstances.”

I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on what my next step should be because I strongly believe I am entitled to more. Thank you.

I booked a flight with KLM to New York and the return flight was with their partner, Delta which was delayed so that I would have missed a connecting flight. We had to get ourselves from Laguardia airport to JFK after getting rebooked on another flight. The delay was over 3 hours, but is it true that even though I booked the journey with KLM, as Delta is not under EU ruling 261 they do not have to compensate? Or because my contract is with KLM they are responsible for the entire journey not just a partial leg? I’m confused, which is it?

We have booked return flights with ryan air to krakow in april they have now delayed the flight out by 36 hours.If I ask for a refund will they also refund the return portion of the booking as that is unaffected

Hi Cathy, I was delayed 8hrs at Glasgow airport on 20/11/2013 flight to Lanzarote with Thomas Cook. I downloaded the form from this website and requester compensation for 4 passengers total 1600 euros. I have received a voucher for use only with Thomas cook and I have to travel within the party, can I refuse this and request cheque?
Many Thanks
Patricia

I was wondering if you could help me? I am having problems with my insurance company where they say they don’t cover me for ‘flight connections’ so I have emailed the airline and waiting to hear back from them, anyway, here are the details:

Two separate flight bookings:

Flight 1
Jersey to London, return

Flight 2
London to Faroe Islands, return (london > jersey 7-8hrs later the same day)

My return flight from the faroe islands was delayed by 3 1/2 hours and therefore impacted my flight from london later that day back home, I had to change my flight time and basically buy a new ticket on a later flight. My insurance company refuse to cover me as they see this as a ‘connecting flight’ even though the flight is 7-8 hours later, anyway, I was just wondering if you could maybe provide me with some advice? I’ve emailed the airline in the Faroe Islands re a compensation claim (ruling eu261).

Hi I am wondering if you could help
I was delayed 24 hours in Mexico on my honeymoon last year as there was an engine fault with the plane coming out to cancun. As soon as we returned we contacted thomas cook to see if we were entitled to anything, however they said we were not entitled to any compensation
thanks
katie

I was recently due to fly to Sharm el sheikh, but got delayed and then cancelled by easyjet at London Gatwick airport along with thousands of other people on 24th December 2013. I don’t know the real reason apart from really bad rain, I have an email saying there was an unplanned runway closure which affected the schedule of the aircraft planned to operate our flight,another email saying it was a sudden power failure at the airport and another and the a third email stating that the flight was cancelled due to high winds and storms, can you help me I have no idea where to start.

My son-in-law and I were out and travel from December 20 to 4 jan 2014.

we traveled with Turkish airline .

we traveled from Copenhagen at 12:30 to Istanbul where we landed at 4:45. we have a flight to lahore from Istanbul at 20:00 local time. we knew that we had to wait 4 hours at the airport.
but as time was 20 we went over to the gate we stood and waited and waited all of a sudden we had at the last minute to another gate when we got there we stood and waited. suddenly, we have been informed that our flight was canceled and we could first fly the next morning at 8:00am

We all were disappointing of the service they provided, no accommodation had been offered or food etc.
Later on, they offered hotel for passenger with a Danish passport but transportation from and to the hotel we should to pay for it.

we got a really bad service we sat on airport benches for 12 hours. the next morning they said suddenly now the plane was moved to 10:00 eventually we got a plane. we were up in the air about 12 o’clock in the morning.

When we landed at Lahore airport in the evening almost night we were given the knowledge that some of our luggage had not come we should do a report.

I was contacted by the airport 5 days after we landed that now luggage arrived and we could come and get it , it takes 3
hours each way where we live until the airport.

Hello
I was going to Manchester on 19/08-13 , with my little daughter 9 months. The journey from Copenhagen to Manchester proceeded without difficulty. But when I was going back from Manchester on 3/9-13 I went through a lot of problems .
When I was checking in baggage I was not allowed for this because my last name on the ticket was not the same as on my passport. After I had made ​​passport , I became married, and thus changed the name, and it was this last name was written on the ticket. Before my departure from Copenhagen , I asked the staff at the baggage check-in , if it would be a problem and they said I just had to show my driver’s license with . which you can see my new surname.

I showed my driver’s license , passport and ticket to the lady at the baggage check-in Manchester , but was just told that I was not allowed to travel. I asked if I could change the surname and she said no to . Since it was very important for me to get home that day , I went so to easyjet service to the airport and asked them for help . They were very helpful. They went with me to the lady at the baggage check-in and said that it was okay that she let me go . However, I had too much luggage so I paid £ 66 extra for luggage. When I came from there I started having problems again on the way to the gate. When because I had the a pram , I should wait for a staff who could help me down the stairs . I waited for a while and then there was no one to help me. I walked by myself down the stairs
I made it until the plane 10.30 and it should only facilitate 10:45. The staff at the gate so my pram and said that I could not come up. As it will take time with the baby pram. I saw them taking my luggage off the plane , security staff went up and down three times to hear if I could take , but the staff on the plane said no. It took them no time to take the luggage out and walk up and down three times , but it would take time with my pram . I even said that I let my pram be as long as I can go. But this was not possible , although it was before the baby carriage that was the problem . The plane was even 11 minutes late so the first relieved 10.56 . I was left with luggage and my baby and pram and no help I got . With much difficulty I came back , however, to easyjet service where I was told that I should buy a new ticket. I bought a new ticket to Copenhagen for £ 60 departing the next day. On the new ticket was my old last name as the same lady at the baggage check-in changed the following day, although it was not possible for her the day before. The £ 66 I gave for extra baggage on my old ticket , I have not been refunded.
I am simply very unhappy with the way I was treated , along with my daughter who was crying and crying.

Hi Cathy, i was wondering if you can give me any advice on claiming compensation back after our flight to leave on honeymoon was cancelled.

We were due to fly out of Dublin with Delta airlines, our final destination was Cancun, mexico but we had a stopover in Atlanta, USA. When the plane reached the runway to take off in Dublin there was a fault which the pilot thought could be fixed, so we sat on the edge of the runway for some time (at least an hour) then the pilot decided he would need to go back to the terminal as the job was bigger than they first thought although we still had to remain on the plane. After another lenght of time (around another 2 hours) it was discovered that the plane needed a new part. All passengers were required to get off the plane and return to wait in the terminal building. After another period of time (at least another hour) the airline announced to us that the nearest replacement part was in amsterdam and by the time it was flown in the airline staff would be over there hours and we would not be able to make it to atlanta in time and so the flight was cancelled.

Delta did give us small snacks wile waiting in the airport and booked us on the exact same flight the next morning with the same connecting flight from Atlanta to cancun. (everything was the same except a day later)
They also put us up in a hotel in Dublin airport.

We had booked the whole honeymoon though Thomsons, who booked it with American Holidays. We were due to stay in a 5 star all inclusive hotel in cancun, so when we got checked into the Aiport hotel we were given, we decided to phone thomsons to let them know the delay so they could let the hotel in cancun know and rearrange our transfers. The thomson’s girl was so disappointed for us and said to come into the travel agents when we got home and they would sort compensation for us.

So the next day we got on the rearranged flight and made it to cancun fine. However on checking into the hotel, the receptionist told us that because we didnt arrive the previous night there were no more King size rooms left, as we were told we would have.

We did return to Thompsons when we got back from honeymoon and the agent wrote a letter to american holidays on our behalf. It was sent off on 2nd December 2013 and we finally got a reply on 15th January 2014.
American holidays basically told us we were not due any compensation from them and we should make a claim through our insurance.
We did return to thomsons yesterday after we received the letter from American holdiday to see where we stand, but thomsons said they could not do anything for us, we would have to contact the airline and insurance company to claim ourselves.

Our insurance was through AXA, i phoned them last night and
was told me would only be entitled to 30 pounds each (15 pounds each per 12 hours delayed). I think this is a pathetic amount after spending most of the first day of honeymoon in an airport and missing out on a full day in a 5 star all inclusive hotel in mexico.

This is the first time ive had a problem with flights our holidays so im not familar on what to do. I had alway thought that booking a package holiday gave some protection if things go wrong but American holidays have given us no help whatsoever.

We had a delay of over 24 hours on a return flight from Cancun to Gatwick. On the day of our return everything was going to plan right up to the time of departure. Some of us passengers had even boarded the plane and taken our seats ready for take off. It was at this time we were then quickly asked to leave the plane.

Amongst utter confusion we were told to go to a different gate where there was another Cook airplane waiting. While at the same time the passengers who had previously been at this other gate had started boarding our plane. Confused we watched what was our plane take off while we were still waiting.

It was at this time everyone started to demand what was happening. It was then they informed us that the plane we were now given had a technical fault and it would’nt be until tomorrow before they could even fly another part from London. When questioned over swapping planes, they answered it was to T Cooks benefit that the Manchester passenger commandeerd our plane because of some knock on effect.

We contacted T Cook several times who have dug their heels in saying our delay was due to a technical nature, which were extraordinary,

I find I difficult to swallow about technical natures and such like, because the plane we had took off on time but to Manchester not Gatwick. Reason for our delay was T Cook denied us boarding our scheduled flight and bounced us to one they already new had a fault and a long delay. Can we claim maybe under operational decision by the airline.

We suffered a long delay on a flight to Goa back in December 2008 with Thomas Cook and I am trying to claim from them under the new eu ruling. Have given Thomas Cook all details but don’t have booking reference and nobody there seems able to find it. They say that without it they can’t do anything. I’ve just found a duty free receipt from that day with the flight number on it. Surely this will give them the proof they require. Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks

Thomas Cook Holidays has refused us compensation on the grounds that the plane was hit by another vehicle whilst in the hangar, and they class this as extraordinary circumstances – we had previously asked at least three times why the flight was delayed and received no reason, and the have finally come up with this but will not provide us with any evidence. We have a claim lodged with the CAA – will Thomas Cook need to provide the CAA with the relevant evidence?

I am pursuing a small claims court action against Thomson Tui for a 48 hour delay when returning from Cuba in July 2008. Flight was delayed as they were unable to start the aircraft. They eventually flew another plane in from Manchester. Thomson are defending my court action and say I must prove I was on the flight. How can I do this with no boarding pass, flight ticket or any other documentation? Is it reasonable for them to expect me to hold tickets etc for six years when they must have passenger manifests which covered the delayed flight.

Hi I’m currently trying to get compensation from Delta for a delay back in 2009.
They are refusing to look at it unless i can prove i was on the flight.
Clearly i have no longer got any documentation for a flight in 2009. They say they have no obligation to keep records for more than 3 years. Is there anything i can do?? I’d appreciate any advice.

In November 2012 i flew from Bangkok to Heathrow with a friend. We were delayed 12hours 53minutes on BA10. To claim BA say I must be able to produce tickets but after this period of time that is not possible. Do I have to have the ticket to make a claim.
BA did put us up overnight as the flight was due out at 12-30 AM leaving eventualy at 1-44 PM

I was traveling with Flybe from Southampton to Belfast on 20/06/2014. The flight suffered a technical problem with one of the engines, which had to be shut down, and was diverted to Manchester. All passengers were put up in hotels overnight and then flown to Belfast the following morning. Can I claim compensation as a result of this or does this come into the category of ‘extraordinary circumstances’?

I think in the most recent case, Jet2 v Huzar, the English Court of Appeal says that engine problems are not ‘extraordinary’ and the airline should pay out. But I understand that the airline in that case is trying to appeal the judgement to the Surpreme Court (despite being refused leave to appeal by the Court of Appeal). Flybe are using this as an excuse not to pay out on their delay claims until its decided – I have an ongoing claim from a flight in June which they’ve just said they won’t deal with until after the appeal. So if you do claim (and why not?) expect a similar response.

I have been delayed this weekend flying back from Antalya to Manchester (21st June) – I booked the flight with Thomas Cook but the airline was PEGASUS – will I be able to pursue a claim as I booked with Thomas Cook or because the flight was with Pegasus who are based in Turkey will it be a problem

Me and my family were delayed coming back from Reus to Aberdeen in 2012 due to a technical fault. Our flight was suppose to be about 11ish but kept getting delayed but they need something was wrong as we weren’t allowed to go through to the departure lounge.
We were updated in the airport about every 4 hours and got free sandwiches and refreshments by about 5pm. But by about 7ish they told us our flight wouldn’t be until the next morning.
We got accommodation and meals at the hotel. The next morning, our flight was delayed again. So in total, we were delayed 23 hours.

I am trying to find the letter that Thomas Cook gave us to explain what had happened, because at the point, they said the only people who could claim were the ones who lost a days wage.
We did sent a letter to Thomas Cook which we are also trying to find. But so far I only have the ticket stub from my boarding pass. It was the my name, date (but no year) and Flight number on it. Is this enough to claim?

Hi please may i have some advice myself husband and 2 children travelled with thomas cook on 22/09/2012 from manchester to antalya and we were delayed for 6 hrs due to a technical fault aparantley they could not find the right part for the plane, we were given food vouchers at check in and told we were delayed 2 hrs but it just kept going up, ive contacted thomas cook for compensation but they say there is no proof i travelled with them as i booked via co-op travel i didnt keep my documents or flight tickets as at the time i didnt know you could claim how can i prove we were on that plane as co-op travel have a new system and cant find any details from before this year. many thanks claire

I would go back to Thomas Cook and ask them to trail through their HQ records as flights have manfiests and these will have been kept digitally. Co-Op will also have previous records at their head office so again write to them and ask them to find the information for you so you can then make a claim.

You should provide proof of purchase from Co-Op such as a bank or card statement.

Hi Cathy, perhaps you can help us. My wife and I were delayed by 21 hours when returning from Toronto to Manchester with Air Canada Rouge. A mechanical fault was given as the reason for the delay. We were given accommodation in a hotel and meal vouchers, and offered vouchers which entitle us to a discount on future booking with Air Canada. Unfortunately the vouchers are useless to us as we have no intention of visiting Canada in the near future. I have seen references on the internet to a Gabor Lukacs’ victory in the courts in Canada in obtaining monetary compensation rather than vouchers etc. Are we entitled to similar compensation in the UK?
Thank you David

Hi there
Sorry to learn of the delay you had on your flight with Air Canada Rouge.
As Air Canada Rouge is NOT an EU airline and the flight was not departing from an EU airport you are not entitled to any compensation under the EU261 ruling.
We are not experts in Canadian Law however we would advise you write back to Air Canada Rouge and ask them to replace your vouchers with cash. Cite the Gabor Lukac case in your letter.
Good luck and do let us know how you go on.
Bob

Hi there Tessa
Apologies for the delay in responding to your comment.
My advice is to write to Customer Relations at Malaysian Airlines and detail your claim in writing. They should be more amenable to resolving this for you and I would also ensure you include all necessary receipts.
Not knowing what his insurance cover is I would however be surprised if there was anything that would cover such circumstances as acts of terrorism are usually outside of normal cover here in the UK. I’m not sure if it is the same in Australia, so you would need to check his policy.
Our best with your claim.
Bob

I have complained to the CAA regarding a flight from manchester to Dalaman in June 2014. I was due to fly at 4.00pm. The flight was delayed on 2 hour slots, this was known at check in. Eventually, after 3 dalays and and at 10.30pm at night we were all shipped (like animals!) to a hotel. This hotel was not equipped for 300 passengers, it was so stressful. The next morning at 11.00am we scoured the hotel for a thomas Cook rep to tell us what to do next. Nobody saw a rep from the point of leaving the airport on buses the night before, no information at all. We eventuall got information to catch a buis outside the hotel at 12.00 and check back into manchester (We had to check out the night before, go through passport control and collect luggage, no rep in site) we eventually landed in turkey 19 hours late! The response I recieved from Thomas Cook when, I complained on returning home, was basically “passing the buck” they cannot aviod plane problems!I have today received this from the CAA, what I would really appreciate is some advice, what do I do next? what are my options? Surely Thomas Cook cannot get away with this. To be honest the CAA have been great but I m confused with the repsonse – please help
This is the CAA response:

I am writing to you about your complaint with Thomas Cook Airlines.

Your complaint relates to a flight disruption caused by a technical problem. This issue was considered in the Jet2 v Huzar ruling handed down by the Court of Appeal on 11 June 2014. Jet2 have now sought leave for a further appeal, so the final impact may not be clear for many months yet. However, as it now stands, the “extraordinary circumstances” exemption is still in the law, but will be narrower as it will not apply to the kind of technical problems that are normal in running an airline. The Court decided that the technical fault in the case, namely a wiring defect in the fuel valve circuit which could not have been prevented by prior maintenance or prior visual inspection, was not “extraordinary”, and compensation was due.

Unfortunately, there will continue to be a period of uncertainty until the Supreme Court makes a decision on whether it will hear the appeal. We expect that decision to be taken later this year. If the Supreme Court refuses the appeal, then the current judgement will apply. If the Supreme Court accepts that it will hear the appeal, then it will take some time until the case is actually heard, and its judgement issued.

We have contacted the airline about your case and they have advised that they will not be handling your case until the outcome of the appeal has been decided.

Given this uncertainty, we intend to postpone handling of your compensation claim until we have had further clarification from the Supreme Court. I would like to reassure you that we have not closed your compensation claim. We will hold your claim open until there is further clarification from the Supreme Court, at which time we will be in touch with you again to advise you on how we will be taking your claim forward.

If you are not happy with this outcome, you may wish to take the case to a local County Court. We are not able to provide you with legal advice in respect of your claim, but you can get guidance on commencing court proceedings from your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau or the Court Service. Please refer to the information provided via the following links:

I am hoping someone can assist me. My family and I were subject to an 8 hour delay in November 2012 flying back from Orlando to Manchester. We received very basic food and drink vouchers.
On my return contacted Thomas Cook to claim compensation, several letters letter, I referred the matter to the CAA. However, after several months all the CAA did was refer the matter to Thomas Cook.

There was no response from Thomas Cook, so I wrote yet again, referring to the case of Jet2 v Huzar. Their response was that the technical fault did fall within the definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and they would not be offering any compensation. I have asked them to specify what the fault was but again have received no further response.

I just wondered if anyone has faced a similar situation, I am in the process of beginning a claim with small claims court but wondered if anyone would advise differently.

I was on a return Thomson flight from Dominican Republic on August 4th 2014, when one of the engines failed forcing an emergency landing at a military base in the Azores. I’m not the greatest flyer at the best of times, but when the entertainment system went down followed by cabin black out, strange rebooting systems coming over loud speaker followed by rapid change in altitude, many passengers and I were pretty distressed. The pilot announced that one of the engines had failed and we would be landing at the nearest airport (an hour and forty five minutes away) which was probably one of my least favourite experiences to date. Thankfully the pilots did a great job landing, however once landed we were unable to wait anywhere other than the plane for over five hours. We were later transferred to a stark military building surrounded by the Portuguese army for a further few hours where we were supplied with a pretty rank chocolate cake thing and water. I understand that the company could not have expected these events to occur and thus couldn’t be expected to prepare for such an event (even if it turns out the ‘Dreamliner’ plane has had a number of previous incidents). However when the ‘rescue’ plane came over, at this point they know exactly what they’re preparing for yet the plane had almost no food on it. (Small portion of chips or a sandwich). We returned to Manchester approximately 11 hours delayed and pretty shaken up to an immediate written offer of £100 Thomson voucher (recently altered to simply a cheque). Having looked at your guidelines on here it appears this offer is vastly less than what could be expected and it just felt like they were trying to buy us off or hush us up after a pretty dreadful time. To be honest after what happened if they had refunded the whole flight cost, the experience was such that I’d still think twice about flying with them. However I noticed the rules are usually for EU to EU flights. Is it an issue having flown from outside of the EU? And do you know what steps I should take in order to receive, what I believe to be, a fairer compensation package? I’d also like to make clear the pilots and cabin crew were great under the circumstances, despite being hamstrung by a lack of support from the company.

You can certainly claim under the EU261 rules as Thomson is a UK based airline. Follow the advice and make your claim where you could be entitled to the maximum payout.

It will all depend on whether or not the cause of the issue falls outside of the extraordinary circumstances clause. This is quite technical by nature and there is a lot of case law currently under way about this, specifically an ongoing case against Jet2 which is currently awaiting a final appeal.

My advice is make the claim, don’t bank the cheque and see what happens. If they fail to pay out refer them to the CAA as per the procedures.

You can’t claim compensation for delayed bags from an airline, however you may be able to claim for delayed bags on a travel insurance policy if you had one with this as a clause. Alternatively you may be able to claim from the airline for out of pocket expenses you incurred to buy essentials such as toiletries and underwear or a change of clothing. Contact Turkish Airlines customer service for more assistance.

hi mr bob
my name is mohammed el amine amaouche i booked ticket from jet2 company to travel from alicante spain to braford leeds and i have a french passport this company did not let me fly for no reason i asked them and did not get answer till now and i flyed with another company normaly can i copmlain jet2 please

I am sorry that you had problems flying. On the face of things there should be no problem with accepting a full French passport with sufficient validity left on the document to fly from Leeds to Spain.

I would there fore make a formal complaint and look to recover any costs from them that you incurred.

I was recently delayed by over eight hours on a Ryanair flight due to the following:

1) We has already gone through boarding and were waiting for the terminal door to open
2) We were called back and told that our aircraft was now going to be used for an earlier flight that had been delayed due to a technical problem – another aircraft would be available in about 30 minutes
3) I have checked this on various aircraft movement websites and indeed this is true. The aircraft that was due to service our flight was used for the earlier delayed flight. The aircraft that was due to service the earlier flight did not fly again that day
4) We did not get a substitute aircraft within 30 minutes but had to wait eight hours
5) We were delayed due to an operational decision to switch aircraft
5) I have written to Ryanair seeking compensation but they claim that our flight was delayed by an, unspecified, technical fault
6) I have pointed out that the earlier flight, delayed by two hours, and our flight, by eight, cannot both have been delayed by the one technical issue and that we were were indeed delayed by an operational decision
7) They have not answered

Im thinking about claiming for a cancelled flight christmas 4 years ago monarch from alicante to london. Is there anyway of finding out the flight number etc ? Being 4 years ago i obviously dont have the details anymore.

Hi, I recently put in a claim for compensation for a flight delay travelling on 13/06/14. I got a reply to say my case is on hold awaiting the outcome of the supreme court, however 12 of my colleagues travelling under two different booking references on the same flight have been awarded compensation and the money has now been paid into their accounts.
Any advice would be welcomed as I have tried to get a response from the airline to explain why they have paid out for some and not others but they won’t/can’t give me any answers.

Hi there just returned from Egypt with Thomas cook and had a 3hour 10min take off delay at Sharm el sheikh air port due engine problems and no qualified 757 engineers to check at the air port. I know its not an EU country but can I still claim compensation for this delay.

It’s the time of arrival that determines the final delay length and not the take off time. If the delay is over three hours you could be enetitled to €400 per person if the reason for the delay falls within the EU261 rules.

I have an enquiry regarding a delayed return flight from Ibiza back to Dublin which occured last thursday 11/9/2014 we were suppose to return home on the 11.45pm flight and were informed there will be a three hour delay due to an earlier flight being delayed which left all other planes not able to regulate their times. Just under 3 hours we were told the plane is ready to be boarded and we were brought on the shuttlebus to the plane and left sitting on the bus for 20 minutes for the bus to turn around and go back to the terminal we were told to return to the terminal that there was something wrong with the plane. Thomson staff came to inform us that on landing the plane hit a bird and a technician needed to check the plane, however he was in Palma and needed to be flown in and wont be able to come until 5am. Im unsure at the exact time we boarded the plane but I do know we landed in Dublin after 8am thursday the 11th September. We booked through Thomson Travel in Dublin, however I cannot find on their website where I can try to claim compensation for our horrendous trip home. Can you advise me what I need to do in regards claiming and is there a time frame as I am going into the 7th day now.

Hi There.
My wife and I are currently on holiday in Dominican Republic. Our flights on the way here were due to depart at 10:30am from Gatwick London however when we arrived at the airport we were told the flight was delayed till 5:30pm (7 hour delay) we were offered a £5 voucher each to get snacks by Thomson Airlines. We were then told to come back in 1.5 hours for another voucher. We went back and we were told there was no more vouchers and we had to sit down and wait. We were told a meal would be provided at one of the hotels inside gatwick north gate. We finally got meal around 2pm. The plane arrived on time (for the delay) but we are wondering if we could be entitled to compensation. Is it worth us making a claim? What are the chances of getting any compensation?

How can I get a document to show Axa Insurance that my daughter’s flight from Istambul to Houston on July 26th was delayed thus missing her connection to Mexico City?
On FlightAware I got the schedule showing the delay but Axa asks for more.
Thanks in advance.

I am currently acting for my son on his families delayed flight/s some years ago. I will not bore you with the full details apart from the following.

After being directed to the Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) by Thomas Cook(TC)themselves,after numerous letters TC to claim compensation The CAA, has looked at his case and contacted TC and told them that they have no defense and that the claim is valid and told them to pay up, but TC have still said no, which is remarkable!

We are now sending a “last” letter back to the Complaints Dept and the CEO of TC in London, to see if we can finally come to a conclusion. If no satisfactory response then it is the small claims court we go.

Just a Note:-

If anyone is claiming for delays on the two legs of there journey, you should make the outward bound claim in the country you left from and the inward bound claim in the country you left from. You can get these details via the CAA web site.

Also.

If you are going to the small claims court, look at taking an action out in all individual names in your party, as the final amount in one name may not be enough to compensate the parties concerned !

Tell the travel agent you are going to post your concerns on social media web sites when writing, as it may make then respond quicker.

Hi, British Airways have refused my claim for EU compensation citing ‘airfield restrictions’ as the cause. Flight Stats website have figures which show this particular flight BA 1407 performs very poor and there are only 2% of flights which perform worse than this one.

It was also late because it left Heathrow late to get to us in Manchester not because it was delayed in Manchester leaving. I smell a fob off.

Any claim for EU Compensation is subject to whether or not the airline can claim ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’ for the delay. These are usually things that are completely outside of the control of the airline. This is where you find more information about that – from the CAA who administer the EU rules in the UK.

I’ve never heard this reason being given by an airline before, however I do know that British Airways are one of the most responsible of airlines in applying the rules, so if it is a valid reason for the delay then they are within their rights to refuse the claim.

I don’t know how much communication you have had with the airline, so I would go back and challenge it asking them why the delay was not in their control and pointing out that from the statistics this departure is one of the worst on record, clearly indicating they could do something about it.

Hi we have just returned from Turkey and we’re diverted due to bad on the outward journey from Dalaman to Bodrum, the same thing had happened the previous night. We booked with Thomas Cook but flew with Monarch. On arrival at Bodrum there was no Monarch or Thomas Cook rep advising us. We landed at 9.30pm local time and it took until 3.30am local time for any coaches to arrive bearing in mind Dalaman is only 3 hours away. We had very little info from the local company Steel Wings and only 1 cold sandwich, 1 bottle of water and 1 coffee in 6 hours. We were not offered local accomodation. And then driven 3 hours to Dalaman in pouring rain an thick fog through the mountains in pitch black poor visibility. At one point the driver hit the bollards at the side of the road.

On arrival at Dalaman at 6.45am there was no Thomas Cook rep to be found and the airport was locked, she eventually turned up 45mins later and announced she had been up a long time and it wasn’t her fault!

We at last boarded a coach from Dalaman to Olu Deniz, another 2 hour 90min journey on an old coach that broke down half way there causing another 30-45min delay awaiting another coach.

We at last arrived at our destination at 10am nearly 12 hours late.

I know flights do get diverted for bad weather but there was no contingency plan in place and also considering it had happened 24 hours earlier.

I have made a complaint to Thomas Cook in Turkey but wondered if we have good grounds for compensation due to the over excessive wait for a coach.

Compensation under EU261 rules only applies to flights and bad weather is not a reason for an airle to pay out I’m afraid under those rules.

However I would say you do have a case for the general way you were handled as passengers as they are reponsible for your welfare during that time and to ensure you receive relevant food and beverage during a delay even if it is weather related. Follow up the complaint you made in Turkey with Thomas Cook here in the UK. If you have had no response to your original complaint within one month of making it then chase the tour operator.

I was delayed overnight on a flight from Cardiff to Larnaca. The apparent reason for this was a bird strike which I understand is an exceptional circumstance. However, I am dubious that this was the case as I have been informed by Thomas Cook that it was a technical difficulty now. If it was a bird strike do they have to be able to prove this, as surely they could just say this to avoid paying compensation. Many thanks.

A bird strike would count as an exceptional circumstance so compensation would not be due in the case of a delay as a result of this.
I would contact Thomas Cook and ask them to verify the cause of the delay as proven to be a bird strike. If it is a technical delay and not as a result oo the birds then file a claim.

You should also consider claiming on your travel insurance if tour trip concluded within the last month as you may be eleigible for travel delay on your policy. You would need a written confirmation of the delay from Thomas Cook in order to make this claim.

We went to Orlando this summer via Miami and our flights with American Airlines from both Heathrow and Orlando for our outward and return journeys respectively were delayed resulting in both cases us missing our connecting flights in Miami.

Our outward journey from Heathrow was delayed by 74 min which coupled with a lengthy wait of almost an hour for our luggage, resulted in us missing our connecting flight to Orlando. After being rescheduled onto a later flight which too was delayed by 90 minutes, we finally arrived at Orlando at 1 O clock in the morning, about 5 hours and 15 mins later than our original scheduled time. On contacting American Airlines for details of the delay, they replied and said that both flights were delayed due to operational reasons. Are we able to claim compensation under EU261 rules regulations? We are unsure how the rules would apply when connection flights are involved.

On the return journey, our flight from Orlando to Miami was delayed by 416 minutes after one of the engines failed to start. We were actually on the plane but were told to disembark and rearrange our flights which took us almost 3 hours to do as the queue was extremely long. This again caused us to miss our connecting flight to Heathrow in Miami. We were rescheduled with alternative flights the following day and were provided with accommodation a local hotel overnight. We finally arrived at Heathrow over 20 hours later than scheduled with our flight from Miami to Heathrow (rearranged via British Airways) also delayed by 23 minutes.

To add to all the frustrations, after waiting for over an hour for our luggage at Heathrow, we found out that our luggage, which was checked in on our original but cancelled (delayed) Orlando to Miami flight, was actually not on the BA flight despite being reassured on 3 separate occasions that they would be. 3 out of the 4 suitcases were found and return to us by courier the following day but the 4th was not found until almost 5 days later.

As a result of the delay coming home, we incurred additional expenses for food and additional airport parking charges. I have also lost a day’s fee with my client.

As our return journey is via a non-EU airline, I understand that we will not be able to claim compensation under EU 261 rules, but should we be able to claim compensation direct from American Airline? If so, what level of compensation should we claim for? Should we base our claim using EU 261 rules? And finally, should we make the claim as two separate claims, one for the outward journey and one for the return or should we make one claim for the delays on both the outward & return journeys together?

I’m sorry to learn of the problems you had on your flights. It is always frustrating when you miss connections and even more so when your bags don’t arrive as planned.

You are correct that as American Airlines is not an EU based airline you can only consider EU261 rules for the outward flight. As long as the tickets were bought as a through flight i.e. Heathrow to Orlando with a flight change and not two separate journeys on separate booking references you could consider if EU261 will pay out. They are liable for your entire journey and you would need to have arrived at least four hours or more late in your final ticketed destination to be entitled to the €600 per person pay out.

What you have to ascertain is the exact nature of the delay. ‘Operational’ reasons could mean a number of things. If it is due to weather delaying take offs and landings then this is NOT covered as it falls into extraordinary circumstances. However if it is due to technical faults causing aircraft to be out of action, crew shortages, late operating aircraft etc. then this is within the control of the carrier and so you should be due compensation. You’re your complaint here; https://www.aa.com/contactAA/viewEmailFormAccess.do?eventName=customerRelations&eventName=customerRelations

Did you consider your travel insurance policy for travel delays and delayed baggage? Depending on the cover extent and levels you have on this you may have been able to claim although you normally need to do this within one month of return back to the UK. You also need proof of the delay in writing from the airline as well as the lost and delayed baggage reports.

I booked a return British Airways flight from Heathrow to Chicago earlier this year and the return flight was operated by American Airways (with a BA flight number!) and was delayed by over four hours due to a fault with the plane. BA deny all liability for compensation and needless to say I can’t get a reply from AA. Are BA correct in this? It seems a very easy way for them to avoid responsibility!

I’m afraid British Airways are right. Under the EU261 legislation even if you book a codeshare flight with an EU carrier but it is operated by a non EU carrier on a route that is not departing from the EU then you will not be able to claim compensation for delays under the EU261 rules.

Therefore your only option is to apply to American Airlines Customer Relations to see if they will give you anything, or to consider claiming on a travel insurance policy should yours pay out for a delay of this length (most won’t until at least 12 hours or more).

Unfortunately, our travel insurance does not cover delayed baggage on the return leg or cover my lost of income due to travel delays. They will only cover our additional expenses if I am unable to recover them from the airline.

From the links that you have provided, I am unclear whether I can claim compensation for the delay on my return leg of our holiday which is outside the EU261 rule. If I can, what would be a reasonable amount of compensation to claim for a 20 hour travel delay and a 5 day baggage delay?

Also, should I make claim against America as two separate claims, one for the outward journey and one for the return or would I have more chance of success if I make one single claim to cover both incidents?

Hi there
Sorry if we confused you. You are NOT able to claim under EU261 for the return journey , However you can got direct to American Airlines and see if they will give you anything. As this is NOT something governed by rules you are likely to get some sort of voucher for the travel delay for use against future flights if you persist. As for the baggage you would normally submit receipts for items you need to buy as a result of the bag being delayed as compensation per se is not liable.
The outward journey should be done as an EU261 claim.
The inward journey should be dealt with as a separate claim.
I hope that helps.
Kind regards
Bob

Hi,
November last year we travelled from Manchester to Sydney via Emirates. Our flight from Manchester to Dubai was late getting into Dubai which made us late and miss our connecting flight to Sydney. We ended up being delayed around 12 hours. Would we be eligible to claim under the EU 261/2004 legislation as we weren’t flying with an EU airline?
Thanks, Jessica

I’m sorry your flight was delayed and you had such a long journey. The good news is that as long as you had bought your ticket as a through ticket and the delay was not casued due to weather or other such ‘extraordinary circumstances’ then you should be able to make a claim as you arrived delayed at your final destination on your journey. A thorogh ticket is Manchester to Sydney and not Manchester to Dubai on one booking reference and Dubai to Sydney on another. Contact their Customer Affairs department for assistance and to start your claim.

Hi , I recently booked a flight with Ryanair which was cancelled whilst I was waiting at the airport. The delay was on the return flight from Dublin to Stanstead airport . I was placed on an alternative flight but it didn’t leave until after a three hour and ten minute delay and landed in Luton .The result was a considerable delay to my onward travel plans. I have been reimbursed for a bus fair of £15.00 .When I wrote to customers services I was informed that the flight cancellation was due to a technical fault and as this is therefore “exceptional circumstances” and that they are not required to pay compensation under EU regulation . I have written again in response to the Customer services for information as to why the technical fault in this circumstance meets the criteria of exceptional circumstances to be advised that they are unable to release any technical details pertaining to this flight in the interest of safety of the aircraft and crew. I have advised in my correspondence that I am unhappy with the outcome in terms of compensation as even though an alternative flight was organised there was non the less a delay of in excess of three hours . I have also written that due to my dissatisfaction with the outcome then I would like to escalate my complaint. I have received a letter back stating that they acknowledge my continued dissatisfaction and are sorry that they can be of no further assistance to me can be of no further assistance with regards to this matter . They have not indicated who I can escalate the complaint to .Is there any thing further that I can do.

Recent cases around technical delays in the UK courts affect all flights operating from the UK, so I would go back to them and cite the recent Jet2 vs Huzar case as being reasonable for them to now pay out the EU261 compensation. This case hung around whether technical delays were ‘extraordinary’ or not and found in favour of the consumer.

If they still do not pay out then your only recourse is to take a small claims court action against them or to employ a specialist firm such as Bott (we do not necessarily endorse or recommend them) to help you.

On the face of it , it sounds like you have a valid claim although we cannot guarantee that as we are not able to see the full circumstances and the airline has to confirm the exact reason for the delay in order for us to advise at all.

I would follow the procedures we lay out in the foot of our piece here and file your claim. Use the CAA website for any additional help to make your claim.

Just received an e mail off thomas cook stating we are entitled to compensation and we should receive this with in 28 days and the amount will then be confirmed. Do you know how we will receive this? And how much per person should we be receiving?

Just rang customer relations as I hadmt heard anything from them they had advised me £928 will be made in the form of t.c vouchers which didn’t want so money will be paid with in 28 days to my account but then after I put the phone down I thought that certainly doesn’t add up are they trying to pull a fast one as there was 2 adults 2 children and one infant 23 hour delay from dalaman to manchester

The tactic of trying to pay compensation to consumers in the form of holiday or flight vouchers is a way of mitigating costs to the travel company. If you don’t use the vouchers there is no cost to them, however you are well within your rights to refuse them and insist on a cash payment as per the EU261 rules. So well done you for standing up to that.

Bob
I note your comments earlier regarding airline liability for delay resulting from ‘bird strike’ and hope you might be able to advise on my case.
My flight to Edinburgh via London from Rome with BA in September was delayed over 12 hours. We missed our connection in London and had a forced overnight at Heathrow before onward travel to Edinburgh next day.
I have written to BA to request compensation for the delay under the EU rules and received a letter from them today rejecting the claim stating that the “aircraft was damaged by a foreign object during the preceding flight and this is outside our control and constitutes as extraordinary circumstances.”
Firstly is this a legitimate defence on their part as a ‘foreign object’ could be anything from a bird strike to actions of the crew and damage from the inside? can they excuse themselves with such little explanation?
Secondly, two faulty aircraft where involved with the delay. The pilot on the eventual flight from Rome to London announced that there had been a catalogue of issues that caused the overall delay. He advised the first scheduled aircraft was damaged and had to return to London. He then advised a replacement aircraft was sent which also developed a fault, failed communication equipment, and it too had to return to London. A third aircraft was then dispatched but it too was delayed as several passengers decided to abandon their journeys and the off-loading then caused additional delay.
So my question is can BA escape liability when the original aircraft was not the only factor in the saga?
Thanks

My understanding here is that damage due to a bird strike is deemed as ‘extraordinary’ and therefore a claim under EU261 would be unsuccessful in that instance.

However your overall delay was, it would appear, compounded by what sounds like a technical fault on the second plane (which would normally be liable under EU261 subject to the length of the delay) and then a third delay due to operational reasons caused by passenger off loading which could be deemed also as ‘extraordinary in some circumstances) then you MAY have an argument here. The wording they have used comes from point 20 on the advice here – http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/passengers/air/doc/neb-extraordinary-circumstances-list.pdf which also comments about off loading of passengers also being extraordinary in certain cirumsances such as security.

This type of delay though is not everyday and it is probably a grey area to be fair when it comes to the legislation. I am not aware of any cases that have been fought on this to establish case law. I would go back to them and present the complete delay to them. I don’t know how long you would hvae been delayed if the second aircraft had arrived without problem and been able to get you straight back to London; however it would have to have been more than three hours after the original landing time for the airline to even consider whether a case could be made. If you remain unhappy you could try speaking to a specialist legal firm in this area such as Bott & Co, who may be able to help or you could try a small claims court action.

In the meantime I’ve put a request in to the CAA for advice and once I receive this I will reply again.

Thanks for the reply Bob and I look forward to hearing the view of the CAA on this. I will respond to BA with the full details as you suggest, but I would imagine this will end up as litigate or forget and frankly BA have annoyed me, a very loyal frequent flyer, to such an extent that I will probably instruct Bott & Co to have a shot at it.
Thanks again

Having spoken with the CAA this one is not clear cut. I’ve also waded through the actual EU legislation and cannot see where this knock on delay is covered.

My gut would be to speak to a specialist such as Bott & Co and see if they think you have a case. However remember that the original fault is clearly NOT covered for compensation under the rules.

Prior to speaking to them it may be worth one last approach to BA, pointing out that you are a loyal flyer (I assume you are a member of Executive Club and so have a track record they can view and consider) and that you intend to take legal action unless they reconsider your claim.

Sorry I can’t give you a definitive on this, however it looks like it may need a test case to resolve it.

My husband and I were booked on Sri Lankan Airlines flight at 1.30pm to Singapore but on arriving at check in were told there was a problem and the flight was over subscribed so we were given £25 voucher to buy coffee etc …while it was sorted and told to go back to desk in an hour we were then told we were booked in on later flight at 8.30pm so 7hr delay so spent 10hrs at Heathrow !Are we entitled to compensation ?

As the flight departed from the UK then although Sri Lankan Airlines is not EU based your flight is covered under the EU261 rules. As you were effectively bumped from your flight due to over booking it depends whether this was your choice or not. If you chose to go later then there are no set rules as you agree compensation with the airline. If however you get bumped with no choice in the matter these are the rules;

When it is not your choice

If you are bumped without your agreement, you are entitled to compensation, as long as you checked-in for your flight on time.

The level of compensation depends on the length of your flight and the timings of the alternative flight you are offered:

For long-haul flights that cover more than 3,500km
If the delay is less than four hours, you can claim €300
If the delay is more than four hours, you can claim €600

Hi there. In 2010 me and 3 other family members were on a flight to Philippines. We departed from Heathrow airport and had a stopover in Kuwait. The flight from Kuwait was delayed for 13 hours so we had to stay in a hotel overnight provided by the Kuwait airline. Do you think I will be compensated?

You can only claim delay compensation if the ticket was a through ticket i.e. London to Philippines via Kuwait where you were connecting AND if the reaon for the delay was within the airline’s control. A stopover is when you break the journey and then fly on the following days or days later with a planned hotel stay in Kuwait. A delay on the onward flight if it was a stopever would only be elgigible for compensation if the carrier had been an EU one, as in this case you were not flying from an EU airport.

You should contact the airline wii your details and tell them you are intending to claim compensation allowing them to find the details of your booking and look at the case. The reason for the delay can be ascertained and then your claim either paid or rejected.

I had a delay of 6 hours from Barcelona to London, I decided to leave and take another flight the following day, as the landing time was going to be impossible to handle for me (~4 AM).
I claimed, they said the situation was OK to be claimed, but not to me, becaue I was not a passanger of the flight! I haven’t read something like this anywhere, is this for real ?!

Hi there
I am a little unclear as to the exact circumstances here however if you chose to leave the following day on a separate flight then you would not normally be entitled to claim.
Did you receive a refund for the plane you did not fly on and then pay again for a new flight? Did the airline put you in accommodation at their expense? If you can answer this I may be able to give you a clearer answer.
Kind regards
Bob

I went to the airport, checked security and spent couple of hours waiting and watching new departure times every 30 min, till I realized it was going to be 6 hours delay. Then I left, company did not paid me anything, in fact I’m only claiming the flight not the accommodaiton.

I’ve read regulation 261/2004, and it says that “if a flight is delayed 5 hours or more, the passenger is entitled to leave the journey and get a full compensation”.
What you think, am I in right to get a compensation? (for the flight tickets only)

As long as you notified the company at the time that you were taking yourself off the flight and you did this after five hours then you should be able to claim a refund for the cost of the flights. You are however NOT entitled to compensation as well. This is becasue you did not take the actual delayed flight. You are also not able to claim any other monies from the airline for any accommodation costs.

Depending on your travel inusrnce policy you may be able to claim for irrecoverable loses from your insurer, although this depends on what clauses and cover any policy you bought has in place.

Hi Bob
I was wondering if I can make a claim for a flight with Thomas Cook that was delayed for over 22 hours on the 25th of July 2009 due to a technical problem the flight was from Glasgow to Sanford Orlando. They did put is up in a hotel overnight, but as I no longer have any paper work or a note of the flight number I imagine I am going to have problems. Can you offer me any suggestions.

You would need to contact the airline that you flew with. They will hold the information for your flight and its take off and landing times. You could also try the customer services contact for the airport in Hurghada.

Once you know how long, you can apply for compensation if the delay was due to circumstances that are not classed as extraordinary as the flight departed from an EU airport. If you needed any assistance with that you would need to contact the Polish equivalent of the CAA as follows;

Hi, my flight with Ryan Air from Manchester to Paderborn Germany was 9 hours delay in October 2008. Unfortunately I haven’t got any payment details or the ticket anymore. Will I still be able to claim any compensation?

Unfortunately, you can only claim compensation under the EU261 rules within a six-year time limit. Frustratingly for you, this time has only just passed but your airline is no longer obligated to pay you compensation.

You should ask them to specify the amount in Euros. Dalaman is indeed in the €400 category if they are paying compensation under the EU261 rules. That would therefore be 4 x €400 or €1600, roughly £1260, so their payment seems a little short. Ask them to justify the payment and why it does not equate to the amount above.

Once you receive the cheque for £928 DO NOT cash it until you have resolved the issue above as encashing it indicates that you have accepted the amount as the final payment.

I have been pursuing a claim against Thomson Airways since December 2011 for a nine hour delayed flight from East Midlands Airport to Barbados. The CAA is also involved and say I have a valid claim. Thomson, however, have fobbed me off on four occasions, claiming technical faults on an incoming flight which delayed ours. The flight was chartered by P&O Cruises which sent details of my booking, flight ticket and seat numbers to Thomson in June last year at their request. They now want my boarding pass and tickets before they will take the matter further. How many people keep the stump of their boarding pass for three years? This company is completely disreputable.

Keep pursuing this. At the end of the day you do not have to produce boarding passes as the airline will have a list of passengers who were on board the flight. The CAA can help you with this on their advice pages http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2211&pageid=15439 (see the bottom of this article).

If they fail to respond favourably after you have been through that step then threaten to take out a small claims court proceeding – its easy and simple to do and see if this changes their view.

Hi There – I am writing about flight TCX0139 on 04/02/2013 from Dabolim Airport, Goa, India to Manchester the scheduled departure time of 02.15hrs (local Indian time – 20.45hrs GMT 03/02/2013). This flight was cancelled and actual time of rescheduled departure was 18.05hrs (local Indian time – 12.35hrs GMT 04/02/2013) arriving at approx 23.59hrs GMT 04/02/2013 arriving 17hrs 15 mins later after original scheduled time
We were told the flight was delayed due to the landing lights not working and the back up system also failing’
After several hours of tannoy announcements stating the flight was delayed we were then informed at approx 06.30 (local time) that the flight was cancelled. During all this time there was no offer of drinks or any other customer care offered. We were eventually led out of the airport over 90 mins later to a disarray of transport and holiday reps wth total confusion and lack of co-ordination. Eventually we were provided with a hotel over an hours drive away and meals (although we were not informed re our right to the use of telephones) before our flight was rescheduled at 18.00hrs later that day. Throughout the day – miscommunication and again lack of co-ordination was apparent with again total lack of organisation on the return to the airport – my wife was separated from her luggage which was sent in a separate vehicle with other passengers. She was eventually reunited with her luggage which had been dumped at the entrance to the check-in and totally unsupervised by Thomas Cook rep and which she had not been allowed to collect by the reps as we were all queued outside of the airport
On our return to the airport we were told that the parts for the flight had been at the airport before we had even left for the hotels and had been replaced. We eventually left Dabolim at 18.05 for Manchester. On our arrival we were furnished with a letter from TC claiming an “unforeseen operationally significant defect which required rectification prior to further travel”
Our original claim was turned down as being due to “unseen” technical difficulties – would we now be entitled to compensation given the most recent rulings. Thank you

What a saga your story is and something I don’t envy you having to endure.

I would certainly go back to Thomas Cook and ask them to re-open your case. Recent rulings place many technical defects within the control of the airline and therefore cannot be ruled out under EU261 rules as extraordinary circumstances.

By my reckoning you would be entitled to €600 per person or nearly £950 at today’s exchange rates. If they agree to the claim, they will probably try to offer you holiday vouchers. Unless you want these make it clear in your letter to them that you want cash as per EU261 rules and NOT vouchers.

Hi, my flight from Dhaka to Amsterdam was delayed for 18 hrs in total. First 6 hour delay from Dhaka to Istanbul. And then 12 hr delay from Istanbul to Dhaka. A hotel service was offered in Istanbul, but the queue was so large that I gave up waiting in line and spend the whole night at the airport. What kind of compensation does emirates airlines offer in this situation. Thank you for advising me in advance.

Hi, tcx62k was our flight from manchester do Dominican Republic on 09 Jan 2010, which was delayed for around 10 hours.We was told at the time that they could not open the hold doors as they was frozen shut and the heaters for this problem was in a london airport, also told that the plane arrived late from Canada – i made a claim and was told that it was exceptional circumstances and that we didnt have a claim due to the weather.During that long Saturday (there was some snow on the ground) we so all the other planes taking off and landing.Do we have a claim ???

Weather realted incidents are not usually claimable however this is an unusual case and you should try Thomas Cook again as it could be argued that it is the airlines fault they did not have the right equipment to operate the aircraft.

We were delayed 13 hours on a flight Manchester to Calgary Feb 12 and had to divert to quebec to change staff before continuing. Fliggt of 9 hours took 23 hours total. The weather was snowy in Manchester but other flights took off and landed. Where do you think we stand?

I made a claim against Norwegian Airlines for a cancelled flight from Oslo to Gatwick on 4th March 2012. We were accommodated well and flew the next day. The airline has responded that the flight was cancelled due to crew illness and no compensation is due This does not seem to me to be an exceptional circumstance. Surely the airline should take reasonable precautions to have relief crew available particularly as the flight was from their main hub, Oslo, and we were advised of the cancellation when we checked in several hours earlier for a connecting flight from Kirknes.

You are right, crew illness generally does not count as extraordinary circumstances as Norwegian Airlines should have taken reasonable steps to have alternative staff on standby. I would suggest contacting Norwegian Airlines again to ask them more details about your delay and why they are classing it as extraordinary circumstances – and keep records of your correspondence with the airline in case you need to refer back to it at a later date.

If you are not satisfied with the response from your airline, the CAA may be able to help with your case (take a look here for more information).

Monarch Airlines: I have contacted them now so many times on email with no reply other than the usual automatic “Thanks for your email…”. Phone lines are not answered after you go through the automated service to somewhere that means it is not about Monarch gaining money.

My flight was delayed by about 14 hours due to technical difficulties, I am seeking compensation for this. Monarch say this was extraordinary circumstances but I would say “No, your plane was faulty”. They are basically now avoiding any contact with me which I find shocking when I also rely on their ethics and professionalism to safely provide air transport for me.

I think that ignoring claims should be a technique that is illegal, and I am not quite sure what to do next.

Hi we where travelling back from turkey in August 2014 from antalya airport flying at 10.45 but where delayed 5 hours when we asked about the delay we where simply told there was no plane available. We booked a package holiday with Thomson but when we contacted them all we got was we are very sorry to here that. Then we contacted onur air the air line direct but still the same only very sorry cause it was outside eu are we entitled to compensation

As Onur Air are Turkish based and you were flying back to the UK from Turkey, the EU261 rules are not applicable to you. If this had been a Thomson aircraft then you would have been entitled to compensation subject to satisfying the conditions. Infuriating I know!
Have you been back to Thomson to make that point and to askl them to reconsider if they will give you anything? After all they contracted the airline for your holiday.

Hi myself and my partner went to spain 2012 our flight was delayed four hrs i have tryed to find our booking ref and they saying cant trace it i have emailed thomas cook no luck what can i do next thanks

Hi, I was wondering if you could clarify something for me, when an airline uses a partner in order to provide a complete journey and the partner airline is delayed does the EU rule apply? Flights were booked via Last Minute.com and the carrier was KLM but the transatlantic flight was Delta. On the return journey we were delayed due to a fault on the aircraft that was due to take us from Orlando to Minneapolis which caused us to miss the transatlantic flight and the flight from Schiphol back to Norwich. KLM have turned us down, does this sound right?

Thanks for clariying. Unfortunately you would not be entitled to compensation under EU261 rul;es in this instance. Although the flights were ticketed as KLM (an EU carrier), the flights that caused the problems were operated by a non EU carrier (Delta) on flights to the EU, something which is not covered in the rules. Annoyingly if you had been travelling the opposite direction the rules would pay out as non EU carriers are covered when flying from the EU, just not to the EU.

The only course of action you may now have is to complain direct to KLM/Delta (they are partner airlines)and ask for compensation for the disruption. Additionally if you had travel insurance and it is not more than one month since you returned to the UK you could see if you are covered under travel delay on your policy.

Please could you help me to clarify if I am due compensation from Thomas Cook? I had return flights only booked with them to Turkey last year and was delayed more than 4 hours on the outbound flight. The delay was due to the door of the plane being damaged by a loose piece of cargo hitting it. Thomas Cook have stated that this falls into extraordinary circumstances – is this correct?

Anything within the control of the airline (which would include cargo loading onto the aircraft) should be considered for a compensation payment for the delay. However its not clear whether this was a piece of cargo on the plane itself or something outside of the aircraft and nothing to do with it which struck the plane. The latter could possibly be considered as extraordinary depending on the circumstances.

My flight to Vietnam last June was delayed by 8 hours due to ‘technical reasons’ i contacted vietnam airlines and have been offered a settlement of $200US per person. This is far less than i had expected for the amount of time we were delayed and having lost an entire day of our holiday. How can i proceed from here?

Our BA flight from Venice to Heathrow was delayed by 60 minutes resulting in our missing our connecting flight to Newcastle. BA put us up in a hotel for the evening with a meal voucher. However, this did not compensate for arriving home a day late when I was supposed to be back at work. Therefore technically I was delayed for more than 3 hours. Although they put us in a hotel for the night, can we still claim?

Under EC Regulation 261/2004, we contacted Emirates directly to submit a claim for a delayed flight on the 6th August 2012. Flight EK0018 was delayed departing Manchester, which meant we missed our connection in Dubai and were booked on flight EK707 departing Dubai on the 8th of August arriving into Mahe at 13.05 instead of 06.45 on the 7th of August. As a result we arrived 30 hours and 20 minutes late and missed out on 1 night of Half Board on our accommodation.

1. Emirates verbally and by email have provided different reasons for the delay.
2. They state that even though our tickets were booked Manchester-Seychelles, that the interconnection was in Dubai outside the EU and they are not liable.
3. They state that as the first flight was only 84 mins late, admitting that that made us miss our connecting flight, does not qualify for the 3 hour delay compensation even though it resulted in 30 hour delay reaching final destination.
4. They state that they are not an EU airline and therefore do not have to give compensation.
5. Their own flight log shows their flight arrived late into Manchester resulting in them missing their slot, hence delayed departure which they’re dubbing as ‘Air Traffic control restrictions’.

All of this make us doubt the validity of their argument and wonder if they’re trying to bluff us into letting the issue drop. We are under the understanding that a flight originating in the UK is covered by the legislation even if the connection is outside the EU and also the delay to final destination is ultimately the issue. We referred this to the CAA who sent our claim back to Emirates to reassess. We haven’t heard anything since. Do you think we have a claim or should we graciously accept defeat?

It sounds like you have done all of the right things. If you booked a through ticket (ie one ticket from Manchester to Seychelles) and the delay wasn’t caused by extraordinary circumstances (what reasons have Emirates given you for the delay?), you should have a case. As you were flying from within the EU, it doesn’t matter who the airline was.

The last correspondence we had was from the CAA in October 2013. As I say, we heard nothing since they sent the claim back to Emirates. It was only through reading about successful cases on Money Saving Expert that I wondered if we had a good enough case and whether we should try again?

Based on your reply, I think we will submit the claim again and see. I will certainly let you know if we have positive news.

Myself and 7 other family members were delayed for approx. 5/6 hours on our return from Rues airport Spain to Newcastle in July 2011.

As Rues airport closes at 9pm we had to be returned to our holiday hotel for a meal then transferred to Barcelona airport for a flight home.

Below is a copy of Thomsons response to my claim. I would be grateful if you can advise me whether I have a case to proceed.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this.

Kind Regards
Dot

( The delay to your flight was reactionary to a technical issue occurring prior to a previous flight. The aircraft was grounded in order for the necessary investigation and repairs. In order to minimise the delay to your flight, an
alternative aircraft was sourced to operate your flight.

We can assure you that the maintenance of our aircraft is taken extremely seriously. As well as complying with stringent requirement imposed on all airlines by various pieces of legislation, we undertake a process of monitoring
all faults on our aircraft so that, if necessary, we can adapt our maintenance process accordingly.

Along with our routine maintenance procedures, an aircraft will undergo a number of pre-flight safety checks. Only when both the engineer and the pilot are satisfied the aircraft is fit for service will the aircraft be able to depart.
Therefore, the technical issue falls under extraordinary circumstance as it was not something which could have been foreseen and not due to poor maintenance.

So as to help both customers and airlines, the European Commission has recently published draft guidelines as to what amounts to extraordinary circumstances.
This list was prepared with the assistance of the various national bodies responsible for regulating the aviation industry across Europe.

In this draft, the Commission has intimated that the following would be considered extraordinary circumstances:

“Any other technical defects which become apparent immediately prior to departure or in-flight (where the system or part had been maintained in accordance with the required maintenance programme) and which require investigation and/or repair before the aircraft is airworthy for the intended
flight.”

While we are of course sorry to hear of any disruption caused by this delay, we do feel that as the aircraft was well maintained and that no problems were found during the pre-flight check, this incident was not something that we could have foreseen or prevented.

We do hope that we have addressed any questions you may have had in respect of the circumstances around the delay to your flight. If you are not satisfied with our response, you are of course able to raise this matter with the Civil Aviation Authority. They will perform a view of the circumstances and decide whether or not the delay to your flight was down to extraordinary circumstances. This is a free service they offer to all passengers.

We are not obliged to release any further internal information surrounding your delay. With that said, I am truly sorry if this wasn’t the outcome you were looking for however this is our final position on this matter. Thank you once again for contacting us.)

my family and i flew out to bodrum in 2011 and having heard all about the flight compensation we decided to give it go, as we were delayed nearly 24 hours(thomas cook were good in making sure that the letter said 23 hours and 55mins so most insurance companies didnt have to pay out a lot) we put in a letter of compensation in December 2014 but have not heard anything back which is rude in my opioin so why im asking is we were made up of two parties but will it be ok for also to write a letter in and see if they bother to acknowledge my letter? as i wasnt the lead person?

I’m in contact with Norwegian Air Shuttle for a compensation claim for a 3h58min delayed flight from Oslo to JFK in October 2014. During the delay I checked their website and there it said that the delay was due to technical reasons. However, the argue that they had a mouse in the cockpit and therefore the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances that we were unable to avoid. Now I am struggling with what to do.

Thanks for your comment. A mouse in the cockpit is a new one on us. At least the mouse is discerning and opted to bed down in the new 787 Dreamliner and not an older aircraft!

However as the reason stated is a technical delay then they really cannot claim extraordinary circumstances as per recent cases which have tested the law across Europe. I don’t know how many times you have spoken to Norwegian, however I would go back one more time arguing that technical reasons in the control of the airline are not counted as extraordinary and the fact a rodent was in the plane is within their control. There is a template of a letter you could adapt on the UK’s CAA website here;

One other important component is that if you are an elderly person, travel insurance intended for pensioners is something that is important to really contemplate. The old you are, a lot more at risk you will be for permitting something undesirable happen to you while in foreign countries. If you are not covered by many comprehensive insurance cover, you could have a few serious issues. Thanks for discussing your good tips on this web blog.

Has anyone had any Joy claiming from Jet2 for the flight below.
We were transported by 2 coaches from Murcia to
Alicante. There were 5 of us on the trip and we have persisted with our claim and received 3 compensation refusals so far. The airline gave us a letter at the airport when waiting to depart and it stated the delay was due to a technical problem. What do we have to do to actually receive compensation. Jet2 seem to be just ignoring anything the courts say and are not paying out.

Booking Reference – 2JYCC7

Murcia (San Javier) MJV to East Midlands

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Flight Number – LS692

Scheduled departure 1925

Scheduled arrival 2110

The flight was cancelled out of Murcia and transferred to depart
Alicante.

Hi, we flew January 9th 2015 with Emirates from London heathrow to Dhaka via Dubai. Our flight initially got delayed for 1 hr in Heathrow & then another 3 hr delay in Dubai airport. Once we boarded the plane in Dubai we were sat for another 1hr before take off. So total of 5hrs. Do think we can claim compensation?
Emirates gave no explanation as to why we were being delayed or any other apology.
Thanks

Hello,
Hoping you can help me with my flight delay on 02-09-14 from Dalaman Airport to Manchester Airport with the scheduled departure time of 22:25. After boarding and the doors were shut ready to take off, the emergency services boarded and the pilot was taken off. As a person who isn’t a confident a confident flight passenger last thing you need to see.
A flight arrived 7 hours lat, Jet 2 are saying under extraordinary circumstances (NeBs) and compensation is excluded under the EU regulations.
Is it worth contesting this?
thank you

Was the delay due to illness of the pilot or something else? You don’t say which emergency services were called or why so its hard to give a view on whether the circumstances were extraordinary or not.

Hi,
I’d be interested in your view on my case. I was delayed by 1hr 25 mins on an Emirates flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to Dubai (DXB) on 17th Feb 2011 due to technical problems, which meant I missed my connecting flight to Brisbane (BNE). When I arrived in Dubai I was rebooked on the next day’s flight and ultimately arrived 24 hrs late in Australia. Importantly, all this was booked on a single through ticket with Emirates and both flights were operated by them.
I have initiated a claim with Emirates and the CAA have given me their backing in stating that they think compensation is due. But Emirates argue that the EC261/2004 regs only apply to the first leg of my journey, which would not be a compensation event as the delay was below 3 hrs.
However, my interpretation from reading your view on other cases is that compensation is payable for the delay at the final destination, in my case Brisbane, which was 24 hrs. Is this definitely the case even when the missed connection happened outside of the EU?
Emirates defence is the definition of a “flight” according to the regs. They reference the rulings from court cases Emirates Airlines – Diretion fuer Deutschland v Dieter Schenkel (C-173/07) and Sanghvi v Cathay Pacific Airways to underpin their argument that the regulation only applies to individual flights. I’m not familiar with the details of these cases, but I will try to find out. What’s your view on my case?
Many thanks in advance! Much appreciated!
Best Regards,
Phil

Our belief is that you are entitled to claim for the full trip as per the CAA advise. We meet regularly with them and this is what they consistenly refer to us as the correct answer in their eyes.

If they will not pay out your only real course of action would be to make a claim through the courts. You can do this for very little cost through the small claims court. Alternatively you can approach a specialist legal firm such as Bott and Co who specialise in flight compensation cases and have a track record of helping consumers. You can find them here;

No news yet, I’m afraid. Court hearing is set for mid September. Based on all the documents they have sent me I would appear to have little chance of winning this case, which seems odd because even the CAA said that I had a valid claim.

I’ve just spoken to the CAA this morning and they can confirm with me that we do not believe there has been a test case yet in the UK on this exact point. We are also aware of the link below from Europe that backs up why both TravelSupermarket and the CAA believe you could be successful. So don’t get downhearted about this.

We’re just in the process of making a claim against Monarch for a flight that had an 11 hour delay back in July 2012. The only problem is we don’t have a booking reference to hand and Monarch state you must have this to process the claim. The only thing we do have is the baggage sticker stubbs from the stickers they placed on our suitcases. Surely they must have our details on record somewhere? Is this just a delaying tactic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You will need booking information in order for you to make a claim with an airline. However there is a way of getting the information you need by making a Subject Access Request to the airline Monarch. The CAA pages here give you information on how to do this at the bottom of the page.

Due to a faulty Fire Extinguisher discharging in the cockpit, our flight was diverted to Barcelona, where the pilot and co-pilot were medically cleared, the extinguisher was replaced and the plane re-fuelled. We then continued our journey on the same plane to Valencia. The total delay was roughly 3hrs 30mins.

We were not offered any food, beverages or phonecalls as a result of the delays – In fact I paid for some food on the plane during the Barca-Valencia leg of the journey.

I’ve tried to claim for some compensation on the ryan air website but it say’s i’m not allowed as all passengers completed their journey. Could you advise if we are entitled to anything?

We sincerely apologise for the diversion of your flight FR8321 from London Stansted to Valencia on the 19/03/2015 which was diverted due to an unexpected technical problem with the aircraft due to operate your flight.

As the diversion and subsequent delay were for safety reasons and therefore outside Ryanair’s control (extraordinary circumstances*) we regret to advise that no monetary compensation is due under EU Regulation 261/2004.

Have you challenged their response? Whilst it is a safety issue they should have a check system in place for these and I would be tempted to say that it is within their control. However it comes down to whether it is deemed under law to be under their control or not.

It is worth putting a complaint into the CAA if you wish to pursue it and asking for their advice as ‘technical reasons’ (and a faulty extinguisher sounds like a techincal fault to me) are within their control following recent court rulings. The CAA have recently issued legal proceedings against a number of airlines (including Ryanair) regarding compesnation in this area.

You can follow the process here – the detail is half way down the page;

Hi there
Is there any experience regarding challenging airlines who are hiding behind “bad weather” as a reason for delay, when in fact the core reason for the delay is poor operational management?
My family of 4 were on flight on 21 February 2015 from Chambery to Birmingham, which arrived 6 hours 40 minutes late at Birmingham.

My observation of the delay by events was:
1. Late incoming flight. Incoming flight landed 3 1/2 hours late.
2. Late onboarding of final passengers. A family of 5 passengers onboarded around 1 hour after other travellers.
3. De-icing took 2 1/2 hours following the onboarding of these 5 late passengers.
I have argued that:
• all the above was ultimately in the operational control of the airline. Namely: they chose a tight turnaround time for the inbound flight; absence of appropriate onboarding procedures; and, insufficient de-icing capacity, with one machine shared across the whole airport where ice conditions would be expected at this time of year.
• potential delays should have been foreseen, and quoted Chambery’s poor punctuality statistics. CAA punctuality statistics show 29% of flights from Birmingham to Chambery during December 2014 were delayed by more than 3 hours. This compared with only 3% from Lyon and Geneva, which would have been subjected to similar weather conditions.
FlyBe have come back and painted a different picture of events. They argue I am not entitled to compensation under EC Regulations 261/2004 for the following reasons:
1. The inbound flight had to be diverted to Clermont Ferrand due to the adverse weather conditions at Chambery
2. The aircraft was then delayed leaving Clermont Ferrand by a further 45 minutes due to the closure of Chambery Airport due to the snow
3. Upon landing there was a further delay of 1 hour 8 minutes due to the adverse weather conditions
4. There was a further delay of 2 hours 34 minutes due to the delay in de-icing at Chambery Airport caused by the lack of rigs and/or de-icing stocks
They then quote Clauses 10, 11 and 14 concerning meteorological conditions and de-icing, and have advised they will not consider my claim for compensation.
This does not feel right to me. My argument is the events of 21 February were not “extraordinary” and outside of FlyBe’s control, snow should be expected at Chambery in February and the punctuality record backs up that there has been poor operational planning.
Am I hitting my head against a brick wall here? Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.

The rules are being followed by the airlines and anything related to weather is thrown out. However I think you make some valid points and it would be interesting to see what would happen if you contacted the CAA for advice or if you took the airline to a small claims court for the reasons you state. I suspect that your arguments have not been tested in court and so hence the airlines constantly rejecting claims.

Funnily enough my Thomson flight (Gatwick to Malaga) was delayed on the 22/02/2015 due to heavy snow at Chambery ( on the 21/02/2015) for over 5 hours – a problem possibly with Thomson. Thomson are claiming heavy snow at Gatwick on th e21st Feb – but the relief pilot admitted that heavy snow at Chambery had caused all the problems ( a localised problem in the Alps affecting their whole network ?? ) Best wishes for settlement

We were delayed by 41 hours on a flight from Sal, Cape Verde to Manchester due to technical faults with the aircraft (broken sensor on wings). Thomas Cook have intimated that we will receive our €600 compensation due to our delay. I have a few questions regarding this compensation and also regarding cost incurred as a result of this delay.

Does the €600 compensation apply to all people travelling? I was travelling with my husband and 6 month old daughter.

We also incurred costs of 2 hotels in the UK which we had booked for when we had arrived back in the UK. The cost of a hotel in Cape Verde on the first night of our delay as they did not provide us with a hotel that was suitable for us with a baby (room with no space for a cot, no air conditioning, no kettle). Mobile phone charges of approximately £150 as they refused to provide us with a telephone to use and loss of wages for a day due to the length of the delay. My question relating to this is do we pursue these costs from Thomas Cook directly or go through our travel insurance?

For your additional costs you should go to Thomas Cook for the phone charges as you are entitled to receive access to make two calls under the regulations – you will need to submit a bill to them from your mobile phone company.

Thomas Cook must provide accommodation to you and you will need to riase the cost of that direct with them as to whether what they had supplied was acceptable or not. Again you will need to supply a bill and they will be interested as to whether the sutiability of the room was discussed with them at the time.

For your hotels in the UK I would try and make a travel insurance claim, although they will want to know why you didn’t try to cancel them when you knew you were going to be delayed. You could also try claiming travel delay insurance as well. Check your polocy for both of these to see if they are included within the cover you have. You will usually need to make an insurance claim within one month of returning from Sal.

We were delayed on a flight to Tenerife on 24th December 2013 due to the flooding of the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport. This resulted in power outage and lack of computer facilities. We have only now received a lengthy reply from Thomson answering my various points, and ultimately claim ‘extraordinary circumstances’. That is understandable at face value given that the airline has no control over the weather or the airport’s ability to cope in such a situation.
My argument would be that it was the airline’s inability to plan for a lack of computer system and have adequate procedures in place to cope with ‘manual’ check-in.
We were boarded eventually, only to be told a couple of hours later that our flight was not going anywhere, despite the captain having the impression that we would eventually have a ‘slot’. Thomson’s letter cites ‘the delay was the result of the airport authority placing restrictions on capacity due to the weather conditions’. Is there anywhere that I can check that this was indeed the case, given that the weather was less severe than the previous day, and many flights had been cancelled anyway because of the problems in the terminal?
My final point would also be that Thomson staff on the plane and staff of its agent, Swissport, at the departure gate failed to check that passengers were on the correct flight – there were several Thomson flights boarded at the same time in the same group of departure gates, and there were two flights bound for Tenerife. As a result there were people boarding our flight that should have been on the other one and probably vice-versa, and the names of passengers didn’t match the flight manifest. I would suggest that this was a security risk and therefore the main reason for the 22-hour postponement.
I look forward to your reply. Thanks.

Thanks for your comment. You make some interesting points here and it must have been a very frustrating experience from start to finish.

Have you voiced the same issues to Thomson (especially the on boarding issue which is quite serious) or posing them now? If they are new please go back to Thomson with those to give them chance to answer. If they have already rejected your points then you have a couple of waysto pursue this should you wish to do so.

1. Contact Gatwick Airport and ask them to verify the issue around slots. Once you have that info you can again challenge Thomson. Email them at customer.services@gatwickairport.com
2. Once Thomson has been fully challenged you could contact the CAA for help or assistance on this. They will look at a complaint about an airline and consider if there is merit in it. Personally I think you will struggle as you are effectively challenging the rules themselves and the interpretation of them, which if unclear would require a court case to get a judgement.
3. Contact a specialist in this kind of claim such as Bott & Co who have a track record in flight delay compensation. They may be able to advise if there is any merit in pursuing. Other companies are available.http://www.bottonline.co.uk/flight-delay-compensation

I would like to ask for an advise. Myself and the rest of my family went for a holiday last April 2014 from uk(London heathrow airport) to Manila ,Philippines. This is the first time my family will be back to Philippines for vacation for almost 12 years. I bought the ticket here in uk. The flight was in the morning leaving from uk to Kuwait. With no problems but we have connecting flight from Kuwait to Manila and this part of the whole trip. During the check in which 2 hours prior at Kuwait airport. We the passengers we’re waiting and told us by the Kuwait airlines staff that there wi ll be no flight tonight which is supposed to be around 11pm kuwait time instead it will be first thing in the morning and the reason was there is no pilot. One of the the passengers which is on the same flight told us, she was offered by the Philippines airline a flight when she about to check in from uk airport to this flight, apparently because the flight was fully booked and they knew that the flight will be canceled from the start. I remember she said to me, I should take the offer maybe now she is in Manila. And not that experiencing this delayed flight. I am with my 3 kids and my husband and it’s tiring and frustrating to have a delayed flight. It’s been a long 2-3 hours waiting from Kuwait airlines what they will do to us passengers, and it seems none from them can answer all our questions. Until after3 to 4 hours from the time supposed to be the flight, they decided to send everyone to a hotel within the airport. We sent to the hotel around past 2 am had a meal and spend only 2 -3 hours then we had another meal breakfast the following day and left the hotel 6 am . Waited for a connecting flight from Kuwait to Manila which is past 8 am. So technically, the flight was having issue of delays from uk already, they knew it ,without informing the passengers.and instead of arriving on the same day obviously we arrive more than 3 hours delayed to Philippines which our old parents we’re waiting and worried. It!s our first time to go with Kuwait airlines although they offer cheap fares, but we expect to get a good flight. I personally witnessed how poor is their customer service. People/passengers don’t know what to do. These are the passengers who we’re there at the Kuwait airport for more than 5 hours from uk to get the connecting flight to Manila. These are the people like me with kids, who we’re crying, shouting, tired ,angry and hungry. You can see all their faces shows frustrations and desperation on that very moment. If you can answer my queries , on this case can I claim for a compensation from this airline? Many thanks!

I am sorry to hear that you had problems with your flights. It must have been very tiring and frustrating.

In order for me to advise you I need to know how you bought the ticket. Was it one booking for London to Manila return travelling on a connecting flight OR two bookings – one London to Kuwait return and one separate ticket from Kuwait to Manila return with separate bookings).

Dear Bob,
First of all thank you for your reply. I applied from BPI bank(bank of Philippine island) Europe based in Earl’s Court London. I had an account from them and they offer travel loans,. These bank is connected to PIC UK travel agency based here in London. What happened the BPI bank will pay for the fare. I have to pay the ticket for 6 monthly payments prior to our flight in April 2014. So I believe I applied for the ticket and loan August of 2013. The reason I did it because of we’re 5 of us who will travel and it will be easy for me to pay the plane ticket than rather a one off payment.
And with Kuwait airways they do have special low fares specially few months before you travel. I believe this is a one booking and a connecting flight.
Most of their flights(Kuwait airways) they do have a stop over for changing planes or fuel which included in one booking as part of the whole flight. This flight covers from uk airport to Kuwait airport stop over for few hours and then to Bangkok airport for an hour, just for fuel then to Manila Philippines airport.This is same with other major airlines like Emirates, KLM, Cathay ,Singapore and an example is Qatar airways from London to Qatar then Qatar to Philippines. These is a long flight and rarely having a straight flight like Philippine airlines, and British airways offers. And for continuous flight it will be expensive as well. Just to inform you I did applied for a travel insurance from my bank (Barclays) since the time which AUgust 2013 when I applied for the travel loan until I came back from the vacation and back here in uk. So before the flight and for the whole vacation till we came back to uk we are full covered with the travel insurance. Question?? Is there any chance I can claim as well from my travel insurance regarding the delayed flight?
And as soon as I came back , I did spoken to the travel agency and informed them about the delayed/ chaos flight that we experience. They cannot believe. They did not say or offer anything.
From the delayed flight from Kuwait the departure time that supposed to be 11pm due to no pilot according to the Kuwait airlways staff at the airport and had a flight the next day past 8 am Kuwait time, using the same flight number. I am not sure that in this case these will be called a delayed flight not a cancelled flight. It causes a long delay of 9 hours only in Kuwait alone.
Within that delayed flight from Kuwait airport, we experience another delay of flight when we stop at Bangkok airport. We only stay inside the airplane, for fueling and change of flight crews/ stewards.That supposed to be last only for 1-2 hours only.
Inside the airplane one Asian passenger complained that she got hit by the food trolley used by the flight stewardess. And that also made our flight delayed, the passenger was asked , assessed and seen by the ground flight doctor based at the Bangkok airport .These cause a major delay I remember the passenger who was hurt was offered a choice to be seen by the Bangkok doctor and be seen at Bangkok hospital in her expense not the airline expense. or just to continue the flight and be treated in the Philippines. The passenger had a clearance from the flight doctor from Bangkok the passenger decided to continue her journey with her family to the Philippines. We stayed an extra 1-2 hours. I believe.
I also forget to inform you, from my previous email and quiries ,during our flight going back to uk, in the Philippine airport Manila while we are in the checked in, we already experienced a delay ,apparently the personnel from the airport has to do manual checking in to every single passenger due to system breakdown, resulting a slow checking in. And when we already inside the airplane, we cannot fly to the actual time of departure , due to the system breakdown resulting in the sitting arrangement and allocation seat was scrambled/ and mixed up that makes the flight attendants has to count manually all the passengers all over again and checked for many times. Until they are satisfied. We supposed to depart from Philippines airport at past 11pm Philippine time and actually after all the trouble it cause we departs past 2 am instead (early morning next day ,Philippine time)And that’s create the chaos for Bangkok passengers then to Kuwait until we reach uk Heathrow airport. The whole long flight including all the connecting flight was all affected and delayed.
And this is not finished here when we arrived at Heathrow airport , all the passengers from different flights we’re all waiting for long cues, due to system failure at the airport. I believe we arrived in the afternoon and we managed to left the airport past 6-7pm uk time.They have to do everything manually. Same as what happened back home in the Philippine airport.
We will never forget this flight in our entire life. It seems endless the troubles , delays, that we experienced. It was really not our lucky day!!!
It seems too much and unbelievable but this are all we experienced throughout the whole flight both going and returning flights.
As I said, I would like to know if we can qualify for compensation from the airline, travel insurance, And also all the airports that causes us delays as well?kuwait ,Philippines and Heathrow airports.
We deserve as I said a good flight but all of this hassles and troubles, with kids in the flight. I hope they consider our case. If you can help us find out if we can avail for a compensation which I believe is not our fault .but we deserve to have a good flight for what we have paid for.
Thank you. Wating for reply.
Regards
Mary Monteverde

Dear Bob,
These is a London to Manila return travelling on a connecting flight in one booking for 5 passengers . 3 kids with ages 7 years, 10 years old and a17 year old plus x2 adults.
I took the flight reservation and paid ticket in uk travel agency (PIC UK) based here in London c/o a travel loan from my BPI bank Europe located in Earl’s Court London uk. Thank you
Regards,
Mary Monteverde

Was anyone on the Thomsons TOM049, return flight from Cancun to Gatwick on 25 June 2014? Sent a formal complaint but received a very delayed and inadequate reply. Curious about any other experiences from passengers on this flight, whether you’ve claimed or not, and if so, how much Thomsons paid.

My wife and i were on a SWISS flight from Singapore to Manchester, with a scheduled change at Zurich. The flight left approximately 6 hours late, missing the connection and requiring a second change at Munich. We eventually landed approximately 9 hours late. This meant that I missed a day at work and my wife missed a day that she had booked off work.

SWISS handled the situation well and provided hotel accommodation and refreshments, but I believed that I was entitled compensation to the value of €600 euros each and submitted a claim in writing. I was aware the problem was attributed to a technical fault and so quoted the Huzar v Jet2 ruling.

I have received a reply offering us SWISS vouchers to the value of £80 each, valid for one year, and told that “The aircraft which was planned to the flight experienced a technical defect prior to the previous flight in the rotation, which resulted in its cancellation. This, in turn, caused the unavoidable and extensive delay of your flight. Such a technical incident cannot be totally excluded even if all precautionary measures are taken and all maintenance instructions are complied with. As this incident is considered to be the result of extraordinary circumstances, no EU261 compensation can be granted.”

Should I take the airline’s word that the nature of the fault was extraordinary or pursue this further?

I would be tempted to go back to the airline and challenge it on two counts;

1. I would challenge the technical issue as any within the normal day to day control of the airline are not counted as ‘extraordinary circumstance’s. They should come clean with the actual technical fault and describe what it was to allow anyone to be able to give an informed opinion.

2. If there are offering compensation under the EU261 rules then they must offer this to you in cash and NOT vouchers.

We were delayed on a flight from Malaga to Manchester for 3 hours 40 minutes due to a computer fault on the plane. Monarch Airlines refused the compensation claim saying this was due to extraordinary circumstances that could not have reasonably been prevented, and we were refused compensation. Should I pursue this decision.

I don’t know what communication you have had from Monarch, however they should have given you the actual reasons for the delay even if they have claimed it is extraordinary circumstances. if the fault is technical then it is definitely worth challenging. There are some notes here from the CAA on technical claims.

I’ve recently been discussing a request for compensation with the airline and the CAA following delays travelling to the USA.

My wife and I encountered a 21 hour delay after missing a connection after the 1st leg of our trip was delayed at Heathrow due to technical problems.

The CAA believes compensation is due as the travel originated in the EU so EC261/2004 applies, however the airline believes that as they are non-EU and the connecting flight was outside the EU then the regulation does not apply.

Can anyone offer any examples where compensation is paid in such circumstances – or are there any other routes / regulations that could support such a claim?

2. Contact a specialist claims company such as Bott & Co (other are available) who can take up your case for a fee.

This part of the legislation has probably not yet been fully tested in court and so interpretation of the law is not fully clarified. However we know many airlines are paying out in these circumstances after intervention from the CAA and legal companies.

I’ve been looking at the charges these “No Win – No Fee” companies state – and there’s quite a difference between them!

Some appear to be a straight % (can vary up to 27%) – Others will add on an extra “Admin charge” per passenger. And then some mention keeping the full amount of any interest award (up to 8%) that a court may make….

Why is there such a variety of charges – are these situations not capped to a maximum “Success Fee” as per injury claims – do these use a Conditional Fee Arrangement with set limits?

Any suggestions as to what is an acceptable “Success Fee” arrangement?

It will depend on the reason for the delay and the way that the flights were booked. I don’t know if you flew Condor via Germany or Condor direct from the UK on a non-stop flight. Did you book direct with Condor or via Thomas Cook or one of it’s agents.

hi thanks for your quick responce…i booked with thomas cook package hol….flew from manchester….i have contacted condor 5 times no responce….although was given a letter at the airport to say it was a technical fault with the airplane ??/

Have you spoken to Thomas Cook in the UK or made a formal complaint to them? Condor is a Thomas Cook Group airline and the tour operator will have contracted their flying for your trip. Condor must tell you what the fault actually was, not just that it was technical.

Technical faults have had UK court rulings on how they qualify or do not qualify for EU261 compensation. You can read more about them here;

Thanks for reply. I went Into local Thomson branch that we originally booked holiday with and gave dates of travel. They still had our booking information on file and she printed off copy with dates, flight numbers etc. I have emailed all this to After Travel department with details of what happened re delay and am awaiting a response – should respond within 28 days.

Thought I would update you on progress of my claim since last correspondence. I waited the 28 days as stated on their website but was informed when I called the After Travel phone no that this type of claim takes up to 56 days. I waited until this time had passed and heard nothing so phoned again but was told that I should have sent my email to aftertravelinfo@thomson.co.uk who deal with flight delay claims so I re-sent original email. I phoned again after a further 56 days and was told someone would call me back so when I didn’t hear after a couple of weeks I contacted them again and was told it was being dealt with and we should hear soon. Today we had a letter from them with a lovely cheque for the sterling equivalent of €800 compensation as “the delay was as a result of an operational issue”. Excellent outcome and “thank you” for your assistance.

That’s fantastic news. Thanks for letting us know and well done you on not giving up. I am in a similar position at the moment with an airline who have taken a long time to process my claim and have finally agreed to pay out.

Hi
I’m not sure if the sort of delays I’ve experienced are covered in this directive. Basically I booked flights to Malaga with BA last October and they advised before the flight that they were changing the time. Started off later by a couple of hours, but then delayed again and again until it was 5 hours 55 minutes later. So what started off as a morning flight with the possibility of enjoying a few hours sunshine in the afternoon ended up with an arrival in the early evening with only just enough time to get to the supermarket before it closed. We were going for a week and the return flight was also delayed by the same sort of time so we just had more time at the end rather than at the beginning. But the point is that I deliberately booked flights at that time and would not have chosen to fly with them had I known the eventual flight time. BA have compensated us with 10,000 avoid, but this only locks us into using them again.
The same thing has just happened with flights booked to go to Salzburg in December this year, this time its just for a weekend. Again a morning flight was chosen and this has just been advised as being delayed by four hours. This seriously impinges on the holiday as we are returning on the Monday at lunchtime so we lose a large part of the time spent away as we’re there only a short time. I’ve written to BA again and they have replied saying that the time is only a guidance as they’re not liable for changes. Again I would not have booked that time had I known.

So is there any compensation possible for this kind of delay? I get the feeling that they are becoming complacent about the treatment they provide for their customers.

Airlines and your operators publish their schedules and sell tickets and as part of the process of booking you will tick a box to say that you have read the terms and conditions of the booking when doing so.

Within these in section 9 are the conditions and you could argue that the with the flight having changed significantly that you would prefer to cancel and accept a refund. I don’t what you were offered at the point the change was made, however have you spoken to BA about this an explored your full options?

Give them a call and see what can be done. Under CAA regulations you cannot claim under EU261 for any compensation as the time changes are known before the flight and not on the day of departure or within two weeks of departure.

Three days ago I was flying from Madrid to Stockholm with British Airways, via a connecting flight in London Heathrow. The flight from Madrid to London was fine, on time (even though we had to hold a little to land) and I got to the gate for the next flight on time as well.

Just as I arrived to the gate, the first delay was announced, from 13:20 (local time) to 15:00, with no reason given. Note that during the wait, the expected departure time fluctuated between 14:30 and 15:00, but we finally boarded around 14:50.

All the passage was already boarded and we weren’t departing, and so after a while the captain informed about a plane change earlier in the morning, that led to us changing plane as well, and that some paperwork had to be done and that’s what was keeping us landed. He would report 15 minutes later.

Later on the captain informed of a technical failure on the internal communication system between the cabin crew and that the engineers were trying to solve it.
Finally, they decide to change the aircraft for one that was arriving the airport (LHR, main BA hub I suppose) from another flight. And so we left the plane and were set for a new boarding to leave at 19:00 (5 and a half hours later than scheduled), which we finally did at that time.

The flight was shorter than expected (estimated 2:40h, actual 2:00h) but still arrived at destination at 22:00 Local time, while scheduled originally at 16:50.

I’m pretty sure, with all the explanation given, that I’m entitled for a compensation. Now my question is, how must be measured the distance of the flight? from the beginning of the trip to the end or just the distance of the delayed flight? (it was a linked service). Because the distance from LHR to ARN is 1466km, so it doesn’t get to the qualification of type 2 flight by its own. However, if the flight is considered to be started in MAD, it definitely has more than 1500km in distance.

I have just submitted a claim for a 20 hour+ delay with Thomson from Birmingham to TABA in Egypt from 6th September 2011 – i knew the dates and flight number (the delay is documented on my tripadvisor review) but i do not have the booking Ref number or any documents (who does from 4 years ago?? – is this going to be an issue for Thomson do you think? I can see it coming….

We were delayed on a flight from Stockholm to Frankfurt,this led to missing the next flight to Barcelona. The total was 5 hours delay as planned. The lufthansa airline explained the delay was due to late arrival of aircraft from another flight as a result of unloading of baggage due to missing passengers which is outside their sphere of influence. we were refused compensation. Should I pursue this decision.

If the gift certificate was as the result of a claim under EU261 legislation then you can refuse it and point out that under the legislation they should send the value in cash, bank transfer or cheque.

I’ve read the article and the comments (very helpful!) and I feel like we should be entitled to compensation. I’m only asking to confirm as my scenario seems to differ slightly.

Our Ryanair flight was delayed over 7 hours (from Madrid to London) and we were offered food and beverages. However, due to the delay we missed our travel to the city and were forced to grab a taxi (it was way past midnight). We were told to keep receipts as we were entitled to compensation for the travel costs.

From what I gather, the legislation should be covering the cost of transport? Or am I wrong? We kept our taxi receipt but they aren’t willing to compensate for that (we aren’t even asking to compensate for our previously booked transport).

The reason for the delay was that the plane that should have landed to pick us up, didn’t depart in the first place so we had to wait for the next one to arrive. They described it as ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’ which frees them from any form of compensation. However, it could as well be a technical fault? Are we still entitled to the compensation?

Food and beverage is handed out to anyone suffering from a delay if the delay is long enough.

Compensation under EU261 can only be handed out id the delay was NOT due to extraordinary circumstances. You need to ascertain the actual reason for the delay and if Ryanair claim it was technical then you should fight them for your compensation which would be €250 per person. Technical reasons can no longer be deemed as ‘Extraordinary’.

Compensation for onward travel costs is NOT covered by EU261 rules as long as the airline got you to the place they were contracted to do so – London or Madrid. Therefore this is entirely down to them whether they choose to pay out anything for those costs. Contact them directly to see if they are prepared to meet those costs. Some airlines will, some will not.

To my knowledge the rules do not cover the cost of onward transportation. That is something which is down to your airline to decide if they wish to pay out as part of their customer service. Their contract in law is to get you to your arrival airport.

hi my family were delayed for days due to ash cloud 2010 i dont have many details (flight etc) to hand only that we flew from doncaster in may 2010 to crete and when we were picked up for return they messed us about taking us on a long journey down to a port to fly us from santorini – then that was cancelled – then drove us back dumped us at a hotel in crete with no info other than ash cloud – then took us all to a german based hotel near airport with free food only-we were there for days – before finally flying us back to manchester and driving us back to doncaster-can we get compensation and can i find my flight details etc to prove it thank you and regards Lulu

It sounds like you had a rough few days before your airline could finally get your home. Airlines were grounded for several days and it took a number of days further to get back to normal operations.

From your note it appears you received the welfare that you are entitled to under EU261 rules. However you would not be entitled to claim compensation as the ash cloud was deemed to be an ‘extraordinary circumstance’. Airspace was closed by Governments outside the control of the airlines themselves.

I have initiated a small claim against Mayalsia Airlines. Last November we were flying from London to Thailand via Kuala Lumpur. The connection time is KL was only an hour, and as we were 35 minutes late arriving, we missed the connecting flight. The result was that we arrived in Thailand some 8 hours after the original arrival time.
Emails to Malaysia Airlines were largely ignored, and finally after intervention from the CAA, they denied any compensation was due.
So having read all the information on the web, I decided to launch a small claim.
The solicitors for Malaysia Airlines have stated the same defence as Emirates Airlines: namely that the case of Sanghvi v Cathay Pacific Airlines has set a precedent in the High Court.
If a district judge in the Small Claims Court has to follow precedents, is there any point in continuing?

I am not a legal expert on this one but there is still some grey area over connecting flights being covered when sold on a through ticket. In conversations I have had previously with the CAA our belief is that they should pay out.

However there are some court cases either in flow or already heard and I would recommend that you contact a legal specialist in this matter. The leading company from a profile point of view is Bott & Co http://www.bottonline.co.uk/flight-delay-compensation and you can seek assistance and advice from them. Other companies are also available and my mentioning them is not an endorsement of their services. However many have talked about their success using this specialist legal firm.

If it was me I would press ahead with seeking further advice before you initiate small claims as you have little to lose here.

in returning from the UK to Muscat in August of this year my Etihad flight was delayed by 2 hours leaving Heathrow. As a result of this me and my family missed our connecting flight to Muscat from Abu Dhabi.

Etihad booked us on the next available Etihad flight which meant instead of arriving in Muscat at 11:00pm we arrived at 4:00am the following morning.

I contacted Etihad and they stated that as our flight was only delayed by 2 hours in London we were not entitled to any compensation. As a good will gesture they offered us some extra airmiles.

Now I know we are entitled to compensation as it is the delay to arrival that determines this but when I pointed this out to Etihad they merely replied stating their position was unaltered. I contacted them a 3rd time citing the CAA guidelines and various consumer website advice (ie this website and martin’s money tips) to which I received a short email stating that they were sorry they had failed to met my expectations, they were closing the case and that they would not be answering any of my correspondance on the issue.

I have passed my experience onto the CAA and am awaiting a verdit from them (they have send it will be up to 10 weeks).

I am disgusted by my treatment from Etihad and intend to take this to the small claims court but wanted to publisize their treatment of me AND ask whether there is anything else I can do at this stage.

Clearly they are saying go away little man and don’t bother us again. Well this little man knows his rights and wants to see them settle for the distress they caused me and my young family

I submitted my claim to Thomson over 2 months ago now with no reply other than the standard automated response in acknowledgment to your email. Which is funny because the response you get says they aim to contact / assist with your enquiry within 28 days :-((( Anyone else having this issue?

My husband and I were travelling back to UK from Paris and the BA flight was delayed for “Operational Reasons” and consequently we missed our connecting BA flight to Aberdeen from Heathrow. We arrived home at Aberdeen more than three hours after the original flight arrival time.

BA are refusing any compensation stating Operational Reasons are exempt. We have challenged BA twice now without success. Can you clarify whether we should pursue this further or not

They need to state the actual reason for the delay. ‘Operational reasons’ is not acceptable and they should give you the actual reason itself e.g. lack or crew, scheduling, etc.

Go back to them and insist they give you the actual reason and ask them to clarify why that reason would fall within ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and therefore rule out any compensation under EU261. If this gets nowhere then involve the CAA to intervene. You can find the details for that within our article.

I was delayed for 5 hours with Jet2 on a flight back to the UK from Portugal in 2012. I was travelling with my husband, my daughter and my mother. Sadly my mother has since died. Can I still claim for compensation for her or can I only claim for myself, my husband and my daughter? The flights were paid for by myself. Thank you

I was delayed 37 hours on 20.09.2015 with easyjet, with 3 other memebers of my family one of who has to have special assistance. We were put up in a very good hotel but this was after midnight with me being a diabetic I had not eaten since 5.30pm and had to pay for room service. after that we got breakfast, lunch and evening meal, but no drinks at all. I have put a claim into easy jet and theysay they are paying for this but in addition we had to bbuy medication due to the delay, i had extra carparking, and dog kennels which they are refusing to pay. they have also denied the claim for delay stating it was a bird strike and exceptional circumstances. We had no food on the return flight as they had not stocked up we were given a stale sandwich at the airport that all had tomoatoes on which I was algeric too, so for breakfast i managed a sweet coffee on the plane a chocolate bar and this was it from 11.30pm the night before and flight landedin Manchester at 3.30pm so as you can imagine being a diabetic i was feeling quite ill. But the ting i am most concerned about is the compenation for the 37 hours delaty. can i claim this. I have sent them a recorded delivery letter

I am sorry to learn of your experience with easyJet. Delays are never welcome by any passenger and when you have additional needs it makes them more uncomfortable.

A bird strike is counted as a an extraordinary circumstance as the airline cannot control that situation, therefore you would not be liable for compensation under EU261 rules. It sounds like you received welfare from the airline as per the regulations, however you may want to point out to them that you were unable to take advantage of some of the welfare on offer. If you have receipts for additional things you needed to buy you can try claiming that back as well, however that would all be at their discretion.

You would have to have been travelling on an EU airline and not Emirates for you to be able to consider looking at claiming for a delay. Do you know which airline you were travelling on and the reason for the delay?

Our Ryanair flight from Tenerife was delayed 5 hours last May. I filed a claim through flight-rights.co.uk website . It took a while, but we got the money back in less than two months. It was really nice surprise. So, if anybody have had a flight delayed, they may be entitled to receive over £500 per passenger in compensation.

Hi, my wife and I were delayed for over 4 hours in Newcastle before a flight to share El sheikh Egypt. This was back in April 2013, and I have only just been made aware I may be able to claim some compensation. However, I am no longer in possession of an tickets,boarding passes or booking details. Is there a way I can retrieve any details or proof of the booking from Thomas Cook. Thanks

On 21/09/2015 my family and I were delayed at Tenerife South
airport for over three hours.
Flight ‘TOM 4791’ was due to depart for Gatwick at 12.05am. We were told that the delay was caused by a fault on the inbound flight and that Thompson were having to find an alternative plane.
On our return we contacted Thompson and recieved the standard reply – apologies and get back to us within 58 days. We still have not heard from them and although I have the original flight booking details there is no way I can find out ( from anywhere) details about the replacement flight. This in itself is very strange as we left Tenerife at 3.20am and arrived at Gatwick around 6.15am but there are no flights corrisponding to this at either Tenerife or Gatwick!
Does anyone else have any information that they can share

1) They have yet to answer the original letter
2) You need to be given the confirmed reason for the delay and the actual confirmed arrival time back into the UK.

In order for a claim to be made under EU261 rules, then the flight must have arrived at Gatwick a minimum of three hours after the scheduled time AND for the reason for the delay to be within the airline’s control and not due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’

You should reference that you have a right to access this information legally and they should respond to you within no more than 28 days.

We recently suffered a delay – landing near 4 hours late.
My calculations is we should be entitled to €400 each.

This was a package holiday & the plane was a sub-leased charter(not a scheduled flight).

Prior to our Holiday, I was told I do not need to submit API & that my baggage allowance falls within their (Package Tour Operator) usual charter limits (as this package company sometimes use scheduled services & would then have to follow the scheduled service limits).

Who do I claim compensation from? As my contract is with the Package Company, who Chartered the plane (I am guessing via a sub-lease)

I for one will prioritise my right to a safe flight over an on-time one.

I agree that sharp airline practices that cause delays / cancellations should be addressed, however if a delay is for a safety reason, then penalising the operators is very risky. If an airline is open, honest and communicates that a technical problem with the aircraft has caused the delay, I would encourage you not to claim.

Safety is the number one priority for all airlines and they do not deliberately set out to fly unsafe aircraft and risk the lives of the their passengers or crew.

However the EU261 regulations allow for people to make a claim if their aircraft is delayed or cancelled and that reason is deemed not to be ‘extraordinary’. Even is this is a safety related issue, if it is within the control of the airlines then they now know as a business that they will have an exposure to the compensation due and it should encourage them to tighten up their procedures to ensure that technical issues are minimised, making it safer all around.

Having made and been successful for two claims for myself in the last six months, I have been compensated for lengthy delays, something that the regulations have been designed to protect me the passenger. I would not deter others from making valid claims under these regulations.

I’m wondering if you can help, this is a very long confusing story, it was like a Mr Bean movie! I’ve spoke to EasyJet and they keep fobbing us off!

We were due to leave Hurghada for Gatwick at 17:00 on 1/1/16. When we got to the airport, we were advised of a 2 hour delay due to problems with the aircraft leaving Gatwick. At about 19:00 we were told by airport staff that the outgoing flight had to emergency land in Chania, Crete due to a corrupted passenger (later found out to be someone who decided he didn’t want to be on the plane anymore at 35,000ft and tried to open the door!)

At this point, we were still due to fly that night with a stopover in Milan to change crew (the current crew would have worked beyond allowed hours if we flew direct to Gatwick). The outgoing flight was due to leave Chania and arrive in Hurghada at 21:00.

However, 21:00 came and went, with no sign of a plane. About 1/2 hour later we found out (from EasyJet’s website!) that due to the steep landing, ice formed on the wings, and no de-icing equipment was available at Chania.

Another 30 minutes went by before being told by airport staff that due to this we would not be flying until 17:00 the next day.

Eventually we were provided with a hotel, this took several hours and we returned to the airport the next day, and finally flew home.

We also had no hot food on the plane and were provided with a refreshment voucher for either a pizza (that wasn’t fit for dogs to eat) or a baguette (if they could be bothered to make any!)

My mother in law also passed out during the delay, and was forced to use a wheelchair for the rest of the trip, and meant we all had to get on the plane by getting on the catering lorry to be lifted up the door!

EasyJet originally stated that no compensation was payable as it was the disruptive passenger that caused the delay. After I challenged this they said that the delay was due to the lack of de-icing facilities at Chania, and that is not grounds for compensation.

Where do I stand on this? Every site I read gives me a different answer!

The original problem for the delay was due to a passenger they needed to remove from the flight and this is covered as an extraordinary circumstance under EU261 regulations;

Security – Removal of an unruly passenger from the aircraft for security reasons – thereby causing either a flight
delay or diversion.

The resulting on-going delay due to crew being out of hours and not having a crew available at a location where they would not have a base would remain as being outside of the airline’s control and backing up their decision not to pay out here.

Under the regulations my belief is that they should have provided accommodation and food as relevant alongside the ability to make a couple of phone calls if necessary. I would look to challenge the quality/quantity of the welfare you received for food and drink as it would appear that this maybe fell short of what would be idea. This is then down to the airline to decide if they would want to make an ex gratia offer in the form of a refund/compensation or a voucher for future travel.

My wife and I had bookings on an Emirates flight from Gatwick to Sidney Australia with a connecting flight from Dubai. As a result of aircraft faults we arrived in Sidney 7 hours late. Emirates refused compensation on the basis that the delayed flight was from Dubai and not an EU airport. Therefore, the EU regs do not apply. I argued that the flight did depart from the EU at Gatwick,Dubai was just a connecting flight. our flight to Sidney by Emirates did leave from an EU airport. Advice please

To my knowledge this is yet to be fully tested in case law, although I am sure that Bott & Co http://www.bottonline.co.uk/ have been working on this with their test cases for the ERU261 regulations. We do not endorse or recommend this legal company however they are the most high profile and probably the most active in this area.

The CAA will tell you that as long as it was sold as a connecting flight in once transaction than it is irrelevant that you flew via Dubai and that the delayed flight was from the Middles East to Australia,. The entire journey was delayed and therefore they should pay out.

my girlfriend and i were on Emirates flight EK313 flying back from Japan to Dubai to London. we experienced a 15hr delay at Haneda airport. we were not offered a hotel for overnight stay and ended up staying 15hrs in the airport Emirates lounge. we were compensated but it was a measly 50k emirates air miles each. we flew business class throughout the duration of the trip, do you think i would have the grounds to argue that 50k air miles each is only good enough for economy flights!! the overall ordeal was horrific and i feel slightly lost on the rights we have in a situation like this.

If you are unhappy with your response from Emirates, then you should go back to them, tell them what you expect and then go from there. personally I would be unhappy with the response especially if the delay in Tokyo was overnight and I had not been offered a hotel. However that judgement must be yours.

You should also consider claiming on your travel insurance policy for delays.

Our Ryan Air flight back from Tenerife to Cardiff was cancelled due to an air traffic control strike in France on March 20th, Ryan Air have stated:-

Ryanair is committed to providing on time flights with safety being our number one priority. However, occasionally there are situations outside of our control such as strikes which disrupt our flight operations. We sincerely regret that this service was one of a small number of flights that was cancelled. We confirm that all reasonable measures were taken to try to avoid the disruption of your flight.

As this cancellation was unexpected and therefore outside Ryanair’s control (extraordinary circumstances*) we regret to advise that no monetary compensation is due under EU Regulation 261/2004

We were 2 days last arriving home, parties in my group lost 2 days work, are we entitled to claim? especially for the inconvenience and lost of work (even though they did put us up in an alternative hotel for the duration) they did agree to cover our meal costs and mini bus costs as the first flight home landed at Liverpool?

You cannot claim EU261 compensation for a delay due to air traffic control strikes. This is not in the airline’s control and so is considered as extraordinary.

You could look at your travel insurance policy to see if it has a travel delay clause and if this type of delay is covered within it. However you would normally need to have registered an intent to claim on a travel insurance policy within one month of return so you may now be too late.

Would someone be able to guide me as to how to find my flight number? Foolishly lost the boarding pass and took too long to think about claiming. Flight delay in 2014 and now 2016. I have the return flight boarding pass, but don’t think this is of much help! I have tried flightstats.com, but they want the flight number!
Thank you.

If you know the basic details of your flight (airline, route, date etc.) you can make a claim on that information as per the advice on the CAA website. Its called a subject access request and is in the bottom paragraph on this page for how to do it;

Hi, I was recently booked on an Easyjet flight to Barcelona from Liverpool. The flight suffered a 5+ hour delay and I was given a leaflet that stated I could get my fare refunded as the delay was so long. The leaflet also declared that you could get compensation under the EC 261/2004 regulation however I have been refused this as I did not travel. Can they refuse compensation on these grounds? As my flight was delayed so long and I was scheduled to attend an event that day it became pointless to fly as I would miss my event and also my transfer from the airport. Does the “compensation” not cover these events?

You should have been refunded for your flight as well as any unused part of your booking – for example the return section of your flight too. You should also have been offered a welfare package while you waited in the airport (for example food, drinks etc during the delay).

Re compensation, are you asking about whether you can claim a cash payout due to your delay? If so, I’m afraid that once you’ve accepted a refund, you are no longer entitled to additional compensation under the EU261 rules.

If you’re talking about compensation for the missed elements of your trip such as your event/car hire when you arrived, this is where you need to check your travel insurance policy (if you have one) to find out if you’re covered for irrecoverable losses as a result of delays or cancellation. If so, check the fine print or give your insurer a call to find out whether you can claim anything back from them as a result of missing your trip.

hi i have recently come back from florida/mexico we were on a delta flight from cancun to atlanta and we had a connecting flight to manchester – we had over two hours to make the connection. the cancun flight was delayed by 25 mins and the security at atlanta airport was that intense we missed the connection by a few minutes – delta were not helpful there were 12 of us and the best they could do was offer four flights to mancester the same time the following day and eight flights to orlando and connect again to manchester again the following day. we took this as we didnt have any option but was not happy. the eight passengers who went to orlando got to the check in desk just in time to be told they werent booked on that flight despite having boarding passes from delta with seat numbers etc and the flight number printed on. they had to go on a flight two hours later. have we a case for compensation? no hotel was offered we staying in atlanta airport overnight and no food vouchers etc nothing

As this is a non EU airline operating on a flight from outside the EU to an EU destination, there is no compensation due under EU261 rules as those rules do not apply to that airline/scenario combination.

The only thing you can do is to contact Delta directly and make a formal complaint to them about what happened and how you were treated. You should state clearly the circumstances and what you are looking for in terms of compensation. They are likely to offer this (if at all) in the form of frequent flyer miles on their loyalty scheme. That info is here;

Hi
I realise this thread is pretty old now but he an interesting situation that i would like to hear your opinion about.
Last week (sunday night) we were due to fly home from Kos in Greece with Thomas Cook’s Condor airline. The plane could not take off from Manchester so we were put up in a hotel for the night and an alternate flight was arranged for about 22 hrs later (monday evening/night).
Come the next day, whilst waiting for the replacement flight and already over 20 hours delayed, we were told that the replacement plane had a broken flight radar and that we would not be flying on this day either!
This time we were put up in a dire hotel with no luggage and didnt fly the following day (tuesday) until about 36hrs after the original flight time on sunday.
Now Thomas Cook has offered us 400 euros each which i believe is the minimum payout if your flight is delayed over 3 hrs.
However – shouldn’t there be two payments, one for each flight that was delayed?
Also what exactly is this 400 euro payment to compensate for? Is it for wrecked holiday or is it to cover expenses? I ask because i had to take 2 days of unpaid leave so while my wife and kids will receive 400 euros each i will end up with no compensation for the 3 days spent at an airport because it will all go on lost wages.
At the moment Thomas Cook are saying that the 400 euros each is all we will get and our travel insurance company (via Nationwide plus account) is saying taht they wont pay us anything because we have had a payout from thomas cook (we’ve not had the money yet by the way).
So to summarise, should there be payments for 2 delayed flights or 1?
And should i be able to claim for 2 days lost wages in addition to the 400 euros each?
Many thanks in advance for any advice you can bestow.
Steve

I’m sorry to learn of the delays you incurred and the trouble that has caused you.

Under EU261 rules the airline is responsible for delays and cancellations due to technical issues. The fact the replacement flight was further delayed due to a technical fault is not reason for two payouts and it would not be treated as two flights under the law. That is how we read it and what we understand the position to be.

The €400 compensation is a blanket amount the airline must pay out as general compensation for a delay. The law does not specify this to be for a ‘wrecked holiday’ or to cover ‘lost wages’ etc. It is a general compensation for a passenger having suffered a delay or cancellation. The rights and wrongs of that could of course be disputed, however before the rules came in there was no obligation for an airline to pay anything. The payouts are set amounts. They do not vary whether you are delayed three hours on a flight to Kos or for 33 hours under EU261 rules, so there is no question of minimum or maximum here under the legislation.

There are two things that I would do as a consumer.

1. I would write to Thomas Cook talking to them about the experience and pointing out what you have endured and lost as a result of the delay and your comments about how it was handled and dealt with. This should include having no luggage, the standard of the hotels etc, communication and service by Thomas Cook while you were delayed. I would spell out to them what you are looking for to settle your claim bearing in mind what you have already received under the law. Once you have a response you can consider if that is a reasonable payout for the time you were delayed before deciding whether to take it further and consider something like the ABTA arbitration service or a small claims court proceeding.

2. Secondly I would speak further to your travel insurer. Not having the details of your policy, I would want to query what you are entitled to claim and what conditions are in place on the policy to mitigate any claim for travel delay. If they are stating that travel delay cannot be claimed if an airline pays out EU261 compensation then I would be interested to know why they would refuse to pay out themselves, otherwise if is a pretty pointless feature of any trip within the EU by aircraft.

Finally I don’t know your type of employment whether you work for an employer or are self employed or freelance. You may have some form of insurance that allows you to claim for inability to work due to circumstances outside of your control. This was be worth investigating as a way of recovering your losses.

Hi, I flew British Airways from Rome to St. Louis. Our plane arrived “on time” just allowing 61minutes between plane landing and the London(Heathrow)-Chicago plane’ departure. But there was a delay in the bus that takes the passengers to the gate, and we were stuck inside the plane for about 20-30 minutes. After running towards the Customs, the BA agent just saw our connection, didn’t even allow us to get through the customs and took us to the special customer services to rebook, delaying the end-destination arrival time by 24hours. I filed a claim, but was denied compensation due to “plane arriving on time”. Can I still get the compensation, or do I have to contact the airport about this – does EU rule include technical faults of the airport (not the airline)? Thanks for your help!!

If your flight arrived on time and you missed your connection this is the fault of the airline, however it would not come under the terms of the EU261 rules which relates to the delay or cancellation of an aircraft, not for a passenger who missed their flight.

If you miss a flight due to a connection that cannot be made, as long as it has been sold to satisfy the minimum connection times for the airlines concerned at Heathrow, then the airline concerned must book you onto the next available flight and in the meantime provide accommodation and welfare. I trust that you received this.

I would write to BA Customer Relations to ask them to explain why you were unable to make the connection when it had been sold as a connecting flight and despite the fact you had arrived on time. Their staff would have known you would be connecting from this flight from Rome to Chicago and it is not unusual to have staff waiting for you to assist in the transfer on tight connections. They would have stopped you proceeding further at the flight connections centre if they knew you would not make the flight, rather than send you running around an airport to ultimately miss a flight and then have to start all over again.

I have a question about flight on route Warsaw (Poland) – Doha (Qatar) – Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Second part of my flight Doha-Dar es Salaam was cancelled and I arrived 7h late. What is important – the whole trip I bought on one ticket.

Qatar Airways denayed to give me 600 euro compensation, but they offered $150 as a relief. Polish aviation office denayed to get this case, because the situation happed outside EU. Am I entitled to compensation?

Here in the UK we would advise passengers to chase this as we believe it is the entire journey that is affected. There have also been some court cases in the UK although these won’t necessarily set a precedent in Polish courts.

I would search on line for any legal firms in Poland who specialise in this kind of case to see if they have any cases on their books where they have won cases and then take it from there.

Good morning, we are currently stranded and trying to get home to the UK after our flight with Easyjet on Saturday (25/06/16) was cancelled due to them re-routing the crew from Bristol to London airports to cope with an air traffic control strike in France.

Our flight home was from Fuerteventura to Bristol and looking at the flight map it does not appear to go through French air space as it is out at sea along the French coast? If this is the case and our flight had actually been effected by them re-directing the crew for an issue with French air strikes that wouldn’t have effected us will they still pay the EU261? As technically it was a staffing issues that cancelled our flight not the air strikes directly?

As if having our flight cancelled wasn’t bad enough the put us on a bus and dropped us a the Sheraton Hotel at gone midnight with our 2 small children aged 3.5 & 5 years and told us we had to pay for a night there and claim it back. It was €375!

The next morning when we called them they said there were no availanle flights out of Fuerteventura to Bristol until 2nd July! Our only other choice was to take a flight from Lanzarote, another island on Tuesdsy 28th June (today)

We accepted this flight but we’re told we would have to pay for all hotel & food bills and transfers to the other island by ferry until our next flight!

Thankfully we have a credit card…

Yesterday we hired a car and took the ferry from Fuerteventura to Lanzarote and stayed in another hotel again paying €350 for one night as 98% of hotels on Easyjets website were fully booked. And this morning the saga continues… We first had and update last night to say that our flight was delayed an hour due to air traffic control strikes in France again. Now a few hours later we have an update saying that the flight is further delayed as that had to chznge a crew member.

Again it does not look like this flight hoes through French air space. Are we going to have s right to claim for delays or a cancelled flight on this one?

Our boys are now getting upset and my 5 year old cried last night and said I just want to go home mummy. We could be facing s cancellation again today with more expense on getting hotels until they have another flight available.

If they do cancel again today should we take s chznge in flight with them or should we try to get home with another airline?

I’ve barely slept tonight and am so concerned about if we’re going to be able to get our family home tonight and the amount of money this had cost us and if we are even going to qualify for the EU261?

Please help? We really could do with your advice today to know what is the best course of action for is to take?

Whatever you choose to do you will need to have the agreement of easyJet if you want to guarantee a payout of your expenses. Otherwise it will become a complaint challenge (which it sounds like you should do anyway) to recove your losses.

You should also ensure you keep ALL receipts for all expenditure.

Speak to easyJet today and go from there to se if they will pay out for a different airline. The moment you cancel your booking with them and accept a refund for Fuerteventura to Bristol, you are then out of contract with easyJet and on your own.

Hi,
We travelled on Turkish Airlines from Birmingham Airport on 5th June. Our flight was delayed by nearly 2 hours due to a technical fault which meant we missed our connecting flight in Istanbul resulting in us not arriving at Ercan Airport until 1.30 the following morning. 5 1/2 hours later than scheduled. I have emailed Turkish Airlines Birmingham Airport customer services twice but no reply. What should I do now? Thanks for any advice.

Please can you provide some advice. Our return flight from Gran Canaria to birmingham in June 2016 with Thomas Cook airlines as part of a package holiday was delayed by 4 hours and 16 minutes (time of landing) for our family (2 adults, 1 child , 1 infant). Thomas Cook say we’re not eligible for flight delay comp -quote “on 2 In October 2012, the European Court of Justice confirmed that passengers could claim for flight delays under EU Regulation 261/2004. A full investigation has been carried out and this shows that your flight was delayed for 239 minutes based on your arrival time. This is not within the qualifying time set out in the regulation. In this case a payment of compensation would not be payable”. Even by their own (underestimated) records our flight was delayed by over three hours, was within the EU and was approx 3000km so this refusal makes no sense to me. TC have not replied to any of my subsequent emails asking for a more detailed explanation. Where do I take my complaint next? The various forums say CAA, the spainish equivalent or ABTA so which do I go to first? Some passengers received a welfare package but we did not and when we visited the kiosk where vouchers were issued the staff member had left.

I would go back with a formal letter to them, sent special delivery laying out the claim you are making, referring to your previous correspondence and pointing out that if you do not get a resolution within a stated timeframe you will start a small claims procedure.

Easy Jet Cancelled our flight for 5 adults back from Nice on the Sat 25th June, the only flight they offered us was 30th June in five days time. We have lost at least £1500 in holiday pay between us all and we think the near cost of staying an extra 5 days in Nice is around £2500 for us all.
Easy Jet have just offered us £210 each. Is this reasonable for a 5 day delay?

I have travel insurance that only seems to payout £10 for every 12hrs delay.

The flight was cancelled by text at 13:30 on 25/6/16 the day of departure which should of been 22:00 hrs.

We read text at 15:30 and online app only gave us the option of rebooking for thurday the 30/6/15. We all decided to go to the airport by train costing us 28 euros return.
On arrival it was pandemonium with a queue of between 50 or so and it had been like that for hrs before with no movement so the people in the queue said. There was two staff on the desk with a lady floor walking and an tablet in her hand. People were crying and distressed coming from the desk. Saying Thursday was the only option given unless you bookyourself on another flight with a different airline but they would not search for you. So unless you had a smartphone you were stuck. The people with them were giving horrendous prices of £400 each to go via Barcelona or other airports.
When we managed to talk to the floorwalker, the only earlier flight by easyjet was Marseille on Wednesday, or Paris on Monday morning. Another easyjet adviser said it would take 8hrs by train and cost around 70 euros each. As most of us were back at work Monday or Tuesday we decided to take this option. They offered us overnight accommodation but could not tell us were the hotel was but it would come up in an e-mail. Then our only phone drained of battery so we did not know were to stop until the phone was charge. An Irish lady who took the same option as us got her e-mail and the map she brought up showed a Holiday Inn very near our Apartment so we decide to travel back to Nice to try and get Train tickets. Ticket office was shut and ticket machines were saying all trains for Sunday were full. Trying not to Panic we went back to the apartment to charge phone and ring insurance and Easy Jet.
Now armed with our tablet and I-pad we got a UK phone number for Easy Jet. We told the English Easy Jet advisor our plight and he told us that if we did not make the flight in Paris then we effectively were on our own. We could not believe it, his only positive advise was to park ourselves at the airport with cases in the hope we could get on a flight were someone does not turn up. For what flight we do not know. This Phone call then affected our think from then on. We searched flights believing we were on our own. Could not find much apart from really expensive one, so we pinned all hopes on getting train tickets in the morning when the ticket office was open. The apartment owner was very good to us and allowed us free of charge to stay over night as long as we were out for the cleaner in the morning. The Ibis Hotel across the road said they had room available for Sunday night if we needed it.
Next morning Three went to get tickets two moved cases across to the Ibis in readiness to book room if no tickets were available. Unfortunately no tickets were available and my wifes hand bag was snatched by a gang in a car stealing Passports etc. We were know in a real pickle. We decided to book a room at the Ibis and they said it was available for two nights so that’s what we did so we had somewhere to stay and we did not have to worry for two days.

After reporting the theft at police station we went back to the airport to try and book flights home. The Staff on the Easyjet deck weren’t busy and very different than the staff the night before. We told them our plight and she told us that with no passport we would not get on any flight so we would have to go to Marseille to acquire emergency passport. There was no earlier flights on offer from EasyJet unless we went and found our own. A quick search on line showed passport office open Monday. We were under the impression form the phone call to EasyJet Uk that we would be not entitled to anything, however she said not a problem I will cancel the Paris flight and rebook you on the cancelled flight, then book you onto the flight for Thursday. They offered us accommodation with meals for two nights, it would of been more but we had already booked and paid for two night. To be honest they were really helpful. Funny how uninformed information from staff makes you make the decisions you make at the time, and the outcomes that come from them decisions.
Great Holiday in Nice though I recommend it.

If the original reason for the flight cancellation is due to something within their control such as staff not being present then they are liable to pay out the EU compensation of €250 per person plus covering the cost of welfare for accommodation and meals while you were stuck in France. So get your claim into them for that.

You should also put a claim into your insurers for the delay due to the cancellation as well as for the lost bag if you have a police report.

I don’t think you can claim the lost wages back from anyone, however you could make that claim to easyJet who are free to consider if they want to compensate you based on the experience you had with their various staff due to the original cancellation.

We have the time and length of the phone call to the Easy Jet rep in the UK 39 minutes were he said we had changed the flights to Paris so we were effectively on our own if we did not make the Paris flight. Do you think this is our main grievance to complain about especially if they can retrieve it. This phone conversation was the main reason we paid for accommodation for two nights at a hotel near our apartment.

I would detail the entire thing to them and spell out the additional expenses you incurred once the first flight was cancelled and the reason for the expense each time, relating those to the advice given at differing times by easyJet staff.

We flew from London Gatwick to Heraklion on 31st May 2016. The carrier was Enter Air and we were flight number ENT 405. The flight departed 3h and 6m late from the scheduled departure time of 09:25. The information provided at the time was due to a ‘technical fault’.

I am struggling to find out how I can claim to them as their website appears in Polish with no option to change the language to English. I believe that were are entitled to €400 per person? There were 3 of us travelling.

To add insult to injury; my partners suitcase was not put on the plane so arrived on day 3 of our 7 day holiday!

Could you advise me on how I can contact them to process the claim please?

It is not the departure time that is used for delay compensation. It is the arrival time – you must have landed at least three hours late for any compensation to be paid, irrespective of the actual time of departure. if you arrives just over three hours late you would be entitled to €250 per person. Technical faults are considered within the airline’s control and so they would pay out for that reason.

On their website you can change the language by clicking on the circle with the Polish flag in it at the top. You can then select English by clicking on the Union Flag logo. You can then find a contact form on their contact us tab.http://www.enterair.pl/en/contact-form

For your delayed baggage you should consider making a claim under your travel insurance for delayed baggage and to the airline for any incidentals you had to buy as a result of the delay..

Do you know how to find out the exact arrival time of the flight? I’ve checked on a couple of websites but the flight number is not recognised. This also happened when I checked on the return flight back to Gatwick (which was also delayed) it was showing as no flights from Enter Air arriving back in Gatwick.

We were delayed 3.5 hrs but the pilot managed to get us back 2hrs 55 mins delayed.

I have cystic fibrosis and the place was incredibly hot, we sat on it for an hour and 15 mins without air con. The passengers were really suffering with the heat sweating and coughing everywhere. The airplane had minimal water I asked for some and they ran out and refused to sell us any of the bottled.

I was poorly in my return and had to take the Monday off work as I had a severe sore throat and cough

I wrote to jet2 and they said they don’t have to do anything as it wasn’t over 3 hours

Our flight with Easyjet fromLisbon to Bristol was cancelled due to the Air traffic controllers strike on the 23rd June. I didn’t get notified of this until 8am on that day we were due to fly at 11am. We immediately got in touch with our agent to arrange the next flight with easyjet. The first available flight was not until 26th June. We were not offered any welfare vouchers and told to remain in our hotel and keep receipts for costs which Easyjet would reimburse. ( we have a recording of the conversation confirming this) however on making our claim we were told as it was ‘extraordinary circumstances’ they are not liable. despite the fact the original cause was for 24 hours and they chose not to fly us back for a further 48hours. Should I pursue this with them or get professional ( ie solicitor or claim company ) help. Any advice appreciated. Costs

As industrial action is considered to be ‘extraordinary circumstances’ according to EU regulation 261, Easyjet are not liable to offer any compensation for the cost of the flight itself.

However, in this situation you should be entitled to a welfare package, including food, drinks, two phone calls, and overnight accommodation if – as in your case – you are delayed overnight, plus transport to and from where you are staying.

As Easyjet did not offer the welfare package themselves, but you were advised by them to cover the costs for the above yourself and keep the receipts, Easyjet should reimburse you for these costs, providing they are reasonable.

I would advise you to pursue this with Easyjet, making clear that you are not seeking compensation for the flight but for the costs incurred by yourself as a result.

Our flight was cancelled last minute due to the Dubai crash incident last week. We had to rush to get them to get us on another flight from Dusseldorf to Dubai a few days later. Can I claim EU261 or will they simply throw the “Extraordinary circumstances” rule at us? Thanks.

In this instance I’m afraid it’s likely that the answer to the question of whether this incident was an ‘extraordinary circumstance which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken’, the airline would probably not be obliged to pay compensation as it could not have foreseen the crash occurring.

If they still do not pay out your only recourse is to take out a small claims court action against them or to employ a specialist firm such as Bott & Co (we do not necessarily endorse or recommend them) to help you.

I was one of about 200 passengers delayed for 3 1/2 hours on the tarmac on a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Faro because the plane didn’t carry the necessary harness to secure a disabled would-be passenger. I understand that the parent of the disabled child had three emails from Ryanair confirming that the harness would be provided, and yet the flight crew were caught unawares. The parent told the flight crew that she would only get off the plane in Faro with her child or if removed by the police. Airport police were called to the plane and after quickly assessing the situation they quietly advised the family to stay where they were since Ryanair were at fault. In the end all passengers except the family were transferred to another plane which eventually arrived 3 hours and 28 minutes late.

Ryanair are claiming this falls under the category of “extraordinary circumstances”, and that no compensation is due. Although I will agree the circumstances were unusual and very difficult for the crew to deal with, surely Ryanair as a whole were responsible for the delay?

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), if Ryanair consider this delay to have been due to extraordinary circumstances they will need to clearly set out why in their response to you.

You say the woman in question says she had several emails from Ryanair confirming that they would have the harness on the flight, and if that’s the case then I think it’s reasonable to class this as the fault of the airline – it’s proving this that may be the problem, however.

Ryanair is a member of the alternate dispute resolution body The Retail Ombudsman, which is there to deal with complaints about its members from those who are not happy with the response they have had to their original complaint with the company in question. You can find out more here: https://www.theretailombudsman.org.uk/how-to-complain-about/airlines/

Hi I am having a problem with a first choice package holiday. Our flight home was delayed by 10 hours. I have filled out on online form and sent various emails to the address provided by an advisor but have not received anything back. Not even an acknowledgment. Every time I phone up the same explanation is given…. Flight delay is a different department who cannot be contacted by phone!! I do not believe that there is a group of people sat in an office without access to a phone. The advisors cannot even tell me if they have received my complaint. The flight was from zantezante to Manchester on the 27th July. The flight number was tom2293. The delay was caused by staffing issues so am sure we are entitled to make a claim but the frustration comes from not being able to contact them. I just wondered if anybody else knew of a way of speaking to a human as the email address provided never gives a response.

Staffing issues do not usually fall under ‘extraordinary circumstances’ (usually situations that are considered outside of the airline’s control, such as extreme weather, political instability or security risks) so you should have a case for compensation.

If First Choice continue to be completely unhelpful, I would suggest contacting one a flight delay compensation firm to take up the case for you – we don’t recommend any particular company but you can find them with a quick web search.

Alternatively, Thomson (which sits under the same company as First Choice and you would presumably have flown with) uses a company called the CEDR to arbitrate in disputes, so it may be worth contacting them as well: http://www.cedr.com/aviation/

Our flight was delayed 4 hrs from Venice to Birmingham recently because of check in problems at Birmingham Airport. Apparently the internet went down and they had to manually do check in. Surely Monarch should have sufficient plans in place to do it manually in such an event. Would this be classed as an “extraordinary circumstance”?

Usually technical problems with an aircraft are not now considered extraordinary circumstances, so it’s quite possible that technical problems in another area (in this case, check-in) may not be either.

In the case of Huzar V Jet2, it was ruled that technical problems – in that case, with an aircraft – should not be considered an extraordinary circumstance because they are to be expected in the running of an airline.

Given this ruling there’s a chance that this may apply to other technical issues, although I’m not sure. You should get in contact with a flight delays compensation firm who should be able to tell you whether or not they think you have a case.

Hi,
I have been told by easy jet that i am entitled to compensation,
I replied to the Email they sent with a written and signed consent of the booker to claim the amount, that was on the 1/7/16.
How long does it take for the payment to go into your bank?

I have sent a couple of emails to their customer service, without reply, I have also phoned and was rudely cut off.

That does seem like quite a wait – I wouldn’t have expected it to take that long given that everything has been agreed.

Other than the traditional contact routes that you’ve already tried I would recommend contacting them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/easyJet If you don’t have an account you’ll need to set one up, however.

They will probably ask you to send them a Direct Message where you can tell them about the delay and hopefully they will then chase it up for you. You could also try their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/easyJet/

My question is regarding a flight from zante to EMA. The plane was delayed due to weather so the plane had to land in athens. We were due to fly at 13.45. The plane finally left athens and landed in zante around 18.00. Crew and passengers left the plane. We were not told that the flight had been cancelled until 21.30. The weather improved and later flights landed and took off for the uk and europe. They told us that the crew had run out of hours so could not fly us home. They knew there was problems in the afternoon but never told us about it and kept promising that we woukd fly. They eventually found us hotel rooms at midnight and arranged pick up for 7am following morning. We eventually flew home at 10.30 this morning. We were given 1 sandwich amd 1 drink for the duration of the delay. We were kept hanging on on false promises.

My question is are we entltled to compensation as the weather caused the intial delay even tho the reason they couldn’t fly us home was that the staff actually ran out of hours. I thought that in these circumstances they fly out extra crew on other flights so that they can fly people home. I was on the understanding that TC do this so do Thomson not bother. 3 flights were affected by this. What are our rights regarding food and drink when delayed.

Just so I can advise you properly, I just want to clarify the order of events: is this correct?

You flew from Zante to EMA but had to stop in Athens due to bad weather. You then flew back to Zante and where you were told the flight would be cancelled until 21:30. By this point, the airline told you that the crew could not fly due to working time regulations. They provided you with hotel rooms and a small amount of food and then flew you home the next morning.

Hi, I was delayed 6 hrs coming home from Alicante to Glasgow with Thomson in July. A bird had become stuck in the engine when the plane arrived in Alicante that morning but we had to wait until an engineer was flown out from East Midlands to certified the plane ok to fly, so take off was 6 hours later than expected. (No engineers available in Alicante!)
I used the online tool “Resolver” through the Martin Lewis website, to make compensation claim. Only receiving automatic acknowledgement reply. Is this system reliable?! I’ve already escalated automatically to their Director and still no reply.
Should I now contact Thomson directly?

Assuming that the situation which you were in is classified as being the result of a bird strike, I would expect you to have a case for compensation. If it is not classified as a bird strike and instead a ‘technical fault with the aircraft’ then I believe this also does not fall under extraordinary circumstances either.

You can use a service such as Resolver but you can also make the complaint yourself to Thomson – if they refuse to pay, you can then take your claim to Thomson’s designated dispute resolution body, the CEDR, of which you can find out more here: https://www.cedr.com/aviation/

If this fails, you can take your claim to the small claims court or engage the services of one of the many flight delay compensation legal firms who should be able to tell you whether or not you have a case.

Hello i was delayed by 3.49 mins from london to athens with Ryanair in July 2016, I have searched on how to claim for compensation, but the ryanair website is quite confusing. Would anyone be able to give me the link to put in a claim?
Thank you

I have searched ud and Down and i have found 2 Answers for my question, so maybe you have the correct answer.

On a BA flight CPH – LHR – LAX – SJC one ticket, depature delayed from LHR arrived 2,5 hrs late so missed connecting flight stranded in LA and never arrived at SJC as they issued a ticket to a next Day flight which i couldnt use as it was to late arrival.

So the question:
How is the compensation calculated is that for the full lenght 600 EUR or just LAX – SJC 250 EUR.

In the UK your airline is only required to compensate you if you are booked on a through ticket – a single ticket and one reservation reference for your entire journey.

Is sounds like this was the case for you, in which case it’s my understanding that the compensation to be paid out is for the full journey to the final destination, regardless of where on the journey that delay occurred.

However, do you know what the reason was for the delay? BA are only required to pay compensation if the cause of you missing your connection was within the airline’s control.

Yes a single ticket/booking bought On BA.com, in CPH bags was checked in too SJC.

We where told it was a tyre change and then they found out that the brake disk hat to be changed to.

At the gate they distributed “Your Rights ….” from CAA, but it was like joking with the passengers, as they distributed it when boarding after apr 3,5 hr delay in depature – the flyer doesnt mention the EU regulation and the part about food and drink State “several hours” as i have learned they should offer passenger food or drinks after 2 hr, this was Not done – luckily i was On F class so headed back to the lounge.

The only reason i heard about the EU regulation and compensation, was because AA rerouted me the Day after in LAX – free of charge and giving me many rerouting option, reminding me that i should ask BA for compensation and at least they should refund the taxes On the unused LAX SJC flight.

If you are not successful in your claim and want to take things further, you should contact the airline dispute resolution body that BA are signed up with, the CEDR – more information can be found here: https://www.cedr.com/aviation/

BA has confirmed they Will compensate me 600 EUR, so that is good and impressive responsetime.

But not so impressive, the BA customer service agent Called me a liar in writting as i ask for compensation for the unused ticket to SJC, she stated twice that she could see i arrived in SJC at a specific time.
But i have travel photos of me sitting in a LAX lounge enjoying fresh orange juice, and of course boarding pass to the rerouted flight at the time she stated i was inbound to SJC (booking made at AA and nothing todo with BA booking) – and in my Executive Club statement the transactions shows that i never arrived at SJC but travelled my rerouted route with seperat AA bookin conf. no.

When checking BAs COC i could see they should reimburse unused and part of used ticket, and even damages inflicted by delays according to a convention if delays occure.

The same is stated On the Danish and Norwegian Transportation Dept. Site with reference too EU legislation

So besidde the EU legislation i guess a delayed traveller should also read the Airlines COC too, as some of Them pays for damages inflicted by a delay etc.

Hello – I was delayed in August on the day that the Emirates plane crashed in Dubai. My flight from Birmingham to Dubai was delayed for 13 hours and a subsequent connection from Dubai to Perth was delayed by 15 hours… resulting in a 28-hour delay overall. In Dubai, the scenes were chaotic and Emirates had almost no staff to deal with passengers. We queued for 7 hours just to speak to someone and I witnessed two elderly passengers on the verge of collapse. They were also unable to provide hotel accommodation because all rooms had been taken, so we had to sit on the airport floor and wait. I’m aware that I may not be entitled to any compensation for the Dubai – Perth leg; however, I wonder if I am entitled to anything for the 13-hour delay in Birmingham. I am concerned they may cite ‘extraordinary circumstances’, when I actually feel that the delays would have been much less severe had they properly planned for such an incident. I collected photos and videos of the chaos and lack of staff. They were woefully unprepared and I feel that the knock-on effect to passengers was due to their poor management and not the extraordinary circumstances of the initial event. Do you think it’s worth perusing this claim? We really were treated like animals and I would really like an apology for the distress they put us through.

What a horrible situation to have been in, sorry to hear you had such a nightmare journey!

As you suspect, I would have thought that Emirates will claim extraordinary circumstances. Although as you say the airline could have planned better to make the situation for passengers less chaotic and more comfortable, the delay of the flight itself was due to the crash of an aircraft, which would most likely be considered ‘extraordinary’. However, it’s always worth checking with one of the many flight delay compensation firms available to see if they believe you have a case.

I mentioned my case a few months ago where I thought I was entitled to FDA but Thomas Cook dismissed my case. After subsequent emails and a letter sent by registered post to Thomas Cook were ignored I took my case to CEDR. It has taken approximately 5 months but CEDR ruled in my favour and I have received a cheque in the post today. My advice is persevere.

My friend Millie and I boarded a flight to Tenerife on Tuesday 13th September 2016 at 10.30am. At that point a fault was being dealt with and although we were meant to take off at 11am we were delayed. Eventually we taxid from the stand towards the runway waiting for take off. The plane started to pick up speed and we reached the point when it felt like the plane was lifting and the pilot aborted the flight as there appeared to be another fault. It was frightening, we all lurched forward, children were crying, it was very, very frightening We were informed that we were going back to the stand, which we did. It was a boiling hot day, people were restless, children were still upset and becoming hungry and thirsty, the doors were unarmed and the air conditioning was on. We were not allowed off the plane. We sat in that plane, without being offered any refreshments. We were not informed throughout this time by anyone of the situation and we occasionally asked the cabin crew who could not answer our questions. I do believe a person left the plane, I am surprised it wasn’t more. At about 3.15pm we were preparing to take off and at that point we were offered half a plastic cup of water. Eventually we took off at 3.45pm. We were due to land in Tenerife at 3.25pm. I had booked meals but my friend being celiac I had ordered her a gluten free meal. They couldn’t find it and about half an hour before we landed they found a meal that was suitable for her. On our return flight she was given some one elses meal as they couldn’t find hers. Totally disgraceful having pre-booked the food. I have written to Thomas Cook, phoned them, written to them on more than one occasion and they say they can’t give us compensation. They did offer us £19 for the meals, but not having received the money I telephoned yesterday to find they have been paid into some elses account and that we are not now likely to get that money. I also have asked for reasons why we won’t get compensation, after all we lost half a day of our holiday, due to problems on their plane. As a passenger surely Thomas Cook should have been supportive of their passengers at that time, but it wasn’t handled in a professional manner. I feel we should get compensation as we lost half day of our holiday which took a while to save for. This year Thomas Cook are celebrating 175 years in business, and I have seen several complaints re this company, you think they should be proud of their achievements and treat the passengers accordingly.

I’m very sorry to hear about your issues with Thomas Cook. That is not the start you want to a holiday you’ve been looking forward to!

With regards to the flight delay, a technical fault with the plane is the company’s responsibility so you should be entitled to compensation.

If you have raised an official complaint with Thomas Cook and are unhappy with the way they have responded, you should register a complaint with the CEDR, the arbitration service that Thomas Cook is signed up to for these situations. You can find out more about that process here: https://www.cedr.com/aviation/

As far as the money for the meals goes, did they give you a reason why the £19 was paid into the wrong account?

No they didn’t. The lady asked me for my card number to check to see if it was the correct number given and of course it wasn’t. But I only have one current account. Obviously I asked if they could tell me the number but they wouldn’t, which I suppose is understandable.

Hi, We flew continental (now united) 4.5 years ago. Flew from dublin to Las Vegas. 1st flight was delayed in Dublin meaning we missed our connection and was put onto the next flight 6 hours later. I understand that although this is not an EU airline because we flew from EU airport we may be due compensation. I have sent 3 communications to United about this and all 3 have been ignored. Am I able to commence small claims proceedings cross border in US ? How do I get them to consider my claim if they continue to ignore my emails and website contacy forms?

You are right that EU Regulation 261/2004 applies to anybody whose flight departs from an airport based in an EU country, regardless of the airline, so you should be entitled to compensation.

On searching I found a website (NOT the official United Airlines website) which aims to help people in situations such as yours – I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information on the site, but it appears to have lots of advice for how to take things further should United not help with your complaint: http://www.untied.com/complain/courts.shtml#

Unfortunately I believe so. Events such as this are unpredictable and not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the airline, and so are beyond their control – as such, these issues are considered an extraordinary circumstance and financial compensation is not usually due.

However, airlines do have a duty of care if your flight is delayed or cancelled when you are at the airport – meals and accommodation in reasonable proportion to the delay until they can get you to your destination. It’s always worth keeping your receipts in this case, and avoiding unreasonable costs such as opting for the most expensive accommodation if something cheaper is available.